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LIFE AND SERVICES 



GENERAL IT. S. GRANT, 



CONQUEROR OF THE REBELLION 



EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



"We have vthtpped them once, and I thixx we cax do it again*." — Grant at Belmont. 



This Life of Gentirai. Grant has been eomniled from the most authentic sources, and is published 
under the authority of the Republican National and Congressional Committees. Tbe undersigned 
are responsible for all statements of facts that it contains. 

W. E. Chahdlbr, 
Secretary Republican National Committee. 

T. L. TOILOCX, 

Secretary Republican Congressional Committee. 



PHILP & SOLOMONS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
1868. 



/I 6 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, 

By Philp & Solomohs, 

In the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. 



Stereotyped 

By McGill & WitheboW, 

Washington, D. C. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 



CHILDHOOD OF GRANT. 

Ulysses, eldest child of Jesse R. and Hannah Grant, was born on 
the 27th of April, 1822, at Point Pleasant, an obscure town in what 
was then the far-western State of Ohio. His parents were well-to-do 
people, furnished with as large a supply of this world's goods as any 
of their neighbors, and both able and willing to afford him all the 
advantages of education then attainable at so great a distance from 
the Atlantic coast. His father was of direct Scottish lineage, and 
although the family had been settled in America for nearly two hun- 
dred years, the most notable characteristics of the Caledonian race 
had not disappeared in him, and were transmitted in a remarkable 
degree of development to his illustrious son. The pertinacity of 
resolve, the shrewd sagacity, the practical sense, the clear judgment, 
the sustained energy which are conspicuous in the subject of this 
pamphlet, are all peculiarities that may be traced to his Scottish 
origin, modified of course by American influences. 

The father had led an active, although not distinguished life. Born 
in Pennsylvania, and left an orphan at the age of eleven years, he 
emigrated from one State to another, and finally settled in Ohio. At 
the time when Ulysses was born, he dealt largely in leather, owning 
several tanneries. He was noted for intelligence as well as energy, 
and in all his dealings with men he bore an unblemished name. The 
mother also was a native of Pennsylvania, but had early removed to 
the farther West, and was married in the same State where the future 
general was born. Her maiden name was Simpson. The modest vir- 
tues of a Christian woman are not fit themes for public portraiture; 
but it is not difficult to imagine in them the source of that purity of 
character and almost child-like simplicity which are so singularly 
combined in Grant with other and apparently contradictory traits. 
Irving felicitously says of Washington : "Hereditary rank may be an 
illusion, but hereditary virtue gives a patent of nobleness beyond all 
the blazonry of the herald's college." 



4 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

Grant was at first called Hiram Ulysses, but known always by the 
second name. The low-roofed cottage in which he first saw the light 
still overlooks the Ohio river and the opposite Kentucky shore, and 
his earliest hours were spent almost on the boundary line afterwards 
so distinctly drawn between rebellion and loyalty ; in sight, indeed, 
of that great theatre of war on which he was to act so prominent a 
part. In 1823 his parents removed to Georgetown, Ohio, and there 
the boyhood of young Grant was passed. 

Like Washington, Cromwell, Wellington, and many others whose 
names are world-renowned, Grant was not conspicuous in childhood 
beyond his fellows. Some have thought that by the reflex light of 
subsequent achievements they could discover in the traits of the boy 
the germs of all that has since appeared in the man, and doubtless 
those germs were all there latent, but the light and sun of circum- 
stance had not developed them. None of his early companions saw 
in him any indications of his future destiny. 

WEST POINT. 

At the age of seventeen, an appointment to the Military Academy 
at West Point was offered to his father, in his behalf. The elder Grant 
had always been interested in politics, and the Hon. Thomas L. Ha- 
mer, with whom he had had some little misunderstanding, procured 
the appointment as a sort of peace-offering. Each congressional dis- 
trict is entitled to one representative at the Military Academy, and 
the youth who had been sent the year before from the district where 
Grant then lived failed to keep up with his class, and was dismissed 
in consequence. The vacancy was offered to Ulysses. Had that young 
predecessor been more successful, Grant might never have received a 
military education, or risen to distinction in arms. 

On arriving at the Academy, his name was entered as Ulysses S. 
Grant. Mr. Hamer knew that he had a brother named Simpson, and 
probably confounded the two names. Grant protested against the 
change, but his protest did no good. He was destined to bear through 
life the significant initials, although they were not given him in 
baptism. His mates, when they discovered the blunder, with boyish 
perversity insisted on calling him Uncle Sam, and he finally submitted 
to what seemed inevitable. As Ulysses S. Grant he was commissioned 
in the army; as Ulysses S. Grant he is now known to his countrymen ; 
as Ulysses S. Grant his name will live as long as the language. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 5 

Four years were spent at the Academy, but Grant made no brilliant 
mark there. Although a great reader, he had no fondness for study, 
and manifested no early aptness for his profession, except in mathe- 
matics ; this science he mastered easily. Riding was his favorite 
accomplishment, and amusement. He was not attentive to the 
minutiae of military etiquette required of the cadets, and though 
never guilty of serious offences and far from insubordinate, was con- 
stantly undergoing petty punishments, for having a shoe untied on 
parade or being late at drill. The same disregard for trivial forms 
has followed him through his later military career. No officer of the 
army to-day is less scrupulous in the etiquette of costume, or exacts 
from his subordinates fewer of those shows of respect which are so 
often paid while the reality is absent. He can indeed afford to dis- 
pense with the mere semblance of that respect which the entire army 
profoundly feels for his reputation and his deeds. 

Among his comrades at the Academy, Grant was popular, and most 
of them now sincerely rejoice in his extraordinary success, although 
it leaves them all far behind. Some of his class, however, have risen 
to distinction in military and civil life. The man who graduated first 
was William B. Franklin, afterwards a major general of volunteers. 
Isaac F. Quimby also became a general officer during the rebellion, 
and is now a professor in a university at Rochester, New York. 
Among the other generals are Jos. J. Reynolds, C. C. Augur, C. S. 
Hamilton, Frederick Steele, Rufus Ingalls, Moses Judah, and J. J. 
Peck, all of whom served under their classmate during the war of the 
rebellion. He was twenty-first in his class at graduation, and was 
made a brevet second lieutenant. The army was full at the time, and 
its future commander could only be admitted as a supernumerary 
officer. He was attached to the Fourth infantry. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

At this time he was twenty-one years of age. His first post was 
Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Missouri, where he formed the 
acquaintance of the lady who afterwards became his wife. She was 
the sister of a classmate, and the daughter of Frederick Dent, Esq., a 
prominent merchant of St. Louis. A few months later, the Mexican 
war broke out and Grant was ordered with his regiment to Texas, to 
join the army of General Taylor. While at Corpus Christi, he received 
bis commission of full second lieutenant in the Seventh infantry; he 



b LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

had, however, become so attached to the Fourth, with which he had 
been serving, that a request was forwarded to Washington for per- 
mission to remain with the latter regiment; and in November, 1845, 
he was transferred to the Fourth infantry, in which he remained, as 
long as he continued in the army. He was present at the battles of 
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, and there took his first lesson in 
actual war; battles which must seem to him now, with his subsequent 
career, like insignificant skirmishes. More men have often been 
assigned by him to a brigade than there constituted both the Amer- 
ican and the Mexican armies. 

Lieutenant Grant remained under Taylor until the capture of Mon- 
terey, assisting in that gallant achievement. His regiment was then 
transferred to the army of General Scott, and participated in the siege 
and capture of the renowned fortress of Vera Cruz. Grant was now 
made quartermaster of the regiment, a position which would have 
honorably exempted him from exposing himself to fire, but he never 
allowed an opportunity of going into action to pass unimproved. He 
participated in the great march of Scott from the sea to the capital of 
Mexico, was present at all the battles of that brilliant campaign, at 
Chapultepec, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and at the cap- 
ture of the City of Mexico. For his distinguished gallantry at Molino 
del Rey he received the brevet of first lieutenant, and in the affair 
which resulted in the capture of the city displayed many of the best 
traits which his later history has rendered so conspicuous. 

A long causeway led up from the mountain of Chapultepec to one 
of the gates of the city of Mexico, but was so well defended that it 
was judged more feasible to approach it by an indirect route. Worth's 
division accordingly was sent by a road which entered the city from the 
west ; Grant was in Worth's division. 

An abrupt turn in the road was defended by a parapet, with a single 
embrasure, and as the advance, of which Grant was one, approached 
this parapet, a raking fire of musketry made it necessary for the assail- 
ants to avail themselves of every chance for cover. Grant, however, 
went alone across the space exposed to fire, and discovered an oppor- 
tunity to flank the parapet. Hastening back to his men, some twenty 
or thirty in number, he called out that he had found a chance to turn 
the enemy's position, and asked for volunteers. Ten or a dozen sol- 
diers jumped up at once, and were soon crawling with him behind a 
stone fence, towards the place from which they were to storm the little 
work ; when Grant discovered Captain, now General, Horace Brooks 



LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 7 

coming up in the same direction- with a company. Brooks was a cau- 
tious soldier, and, making his way slowly along in the bottom of a 
ditch; Grant at once cried out, "Captain, I've found a way to flank 
the enemy ;" and Brooks replied, "Well, you know the route, go on 
and we will follow." So the lieutenant led, and the whole party, now 
nearly fifty in number, assaulted the end of the parapet, carried it by 
storm, and then took the enemy in rear. The Mexicans fled at once 
from the position, no longer tenable, and the parapet was secured. 

The party was now on the direct road to the Garita San Cosme, one 
of the strongest entrances to the city of Mexico, whose spires were 
distinctly visible. On they went, till they found their way obstructed 
by another parapet, exactly like that already carried, but this one 
defended by a cannon. Grant again advanced at the head of his little 
column, by this time augmented to a hundred and fifty soldiers, and 
the second parapet was carried. But they were at last under the guns 
of the city itself, and Brooks, who assumed command by virtue of 
seniority, declared that he could not hold the position long without 
reinforcements. Grant was therefore sent back to General Worth to 
ask for more troops. He had not been gone five minutes before the 
little command was driven pell-mell from the parapet. He, however, 
soon found the commanding general, and fresh troops were at once 
sent forward. 

A little to the right of the parapet, but still nearer to the garita, was 
a church, with a steeple nearly a hundred feet high. Grant promptly 
led a section of artillery towards the church through the ditches with 
which the whole country is broken. He found the padre, and demanded 
the keys of the sacred building, which the father was at first unwilling 
to surrender, but Grant soon convinced him of the necessity of com- 
pliance. The mountain howitzer, drawn by hand, was speedily taken 
to pieces, and four or five men carried it to the belfry. Grant disposed 
the rest of the force around the church below so as to secure it against 
easy capture, and mounted the steeple. The pieces of the howitzer 
were hastily put together, and Grant himself pointed and served the 
gun, which quickly drove the enemy from the parapet. The piece was 
then directed on the city, and did excellent execution against the 
garita. The confusion of the Mexicans, who hastened to retreat 
inside the city, was plainly visible. 

Worth soon perceived the shells issuing from this novel position, 
and marked the effect they were doing on the enemy. He was delighted 
at the sagacity and gallantry of the performance, and sent at once 



8 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

for Grant to congratulate him. Not only did he do this publicly, but 
be placed a captain, with an entire company, under Grant's command, 
and bade him return with another howitzer to his church. Grant 
obeyed, and that night the Garita San Cosme surrendered. On the 
morrow Mexico was in the hands of the Americans. 

For this achievement, so important and so successful, which was 
executed without orders by a second lieutenant, acting as a quarter- 
master, who therefore had no legitimate command, but was obliged to 
gather up men and weapons on the field, Grant was mentioned in all 
the official reports, and received another brevet five days after the 
former. One of his fellow second lieutenants in the fourth infantry 
at this time, was named Abram Lincoln. He died in Florida, in 1852. 
Generals McCall, Alvord, Prince, Augur, Judah, Hays, and Russell, 
were also among his comrades, most of them then of higher rank than 
he who has since outstripped them all. 

PANAMA. 

After the close of the Mexican war, Grant returned with his regi- 
ment to the United States. He married in April, 1848, and for a 
while was in command of his company, first at Detroit, and afterwards 
at Sackett's Harbor. In 1851 he was ordered to Oregon by way of 
California. His wife was left behind. The route was by sea to the 
Isthmus of Panama, but in crossing the isthmus the cholera broke out 
among the passengers. 

Grant was again acting as quartermaster. The railroad at this time 
was completed only about thirty miles ; after that the route was in 
boats up the Chagres river, to the head of navigation, and from this 
point about thirty miles farther by land. The troops, some seven 
hundred in number, were to march from the river to the Pacific, but 
the steamship company had contracted to furnish mules and other 
transportation for the sick, as well as for the wives and children of 
the officers and soldiers. There were, however, several hundred other 
passengers besides the soldiers, and when the cholera appeared the 
panic among them was great. The passengers offered higher prices 
to the natives than the company had bargained to pay, and the Indi- 
ans hired to them all their mules and wagons, leaving none for the 
soldiers or their families. The great body of troops at once marched 
on, but Grant was left with the sick and the women and children, who 
were unable to walk under the July sun of the tropics. Here he 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 9 

remained a week, amid malignant heats and pestilence and death, 
taking entire command of everything, making extraordinary efforts to 
procure transportation, caring for the sick and dying, burying the 
dead, controlling the half-hostile natives, and doing the work of a 
dozen frightened officers. During all this week he never took his 
clothes off once, and only snatched rare intervals of sleep as he lay 
stretched along a bench or under a shed, exposed to the miasma of 
the forest and the swamps. But he was "preserved for still greater 
emergencies. Neither Mexican bullets nor South American plagues 
were allowed to harm the life destined thereafter to be of so much 
consequence to his countrymen. 

Finally, as the agents of the steamship failed entirely to do their 
duty, Grant took upon himself the responsibility of making a new 
contract in their name. He hired mules and wagons and litters for 
the sick at prices double those which the company had agreed to pay. 
He engaged natives to bury the dead, and at last took up his march 
for the Pacific. About a hundred and fifty souls had been left with 
him in the interior of the isthmus, half of whom perished in that 
week of cholera. Grant was among the last to start from the fatal 
spot, from which many officers in his situation would not have scrupled 
to flee at the first appearance of the pestilence. 

CIVIL LIFE. 

His regiment finally arrived at Fort Dallas, Oregon, and in 1853 
he received his commission of captain. He remained on the Pacific 
coast till 185-1, when, having served in the army eleven years, he re- 
signed his commission and returned to St. Louis. Near this place he 
owned a little farm. His means were limited, and he was accustomed 
to work at the plough with his hired men, and one or two slaves, the 
property of his wife. In the winter, when the cultivation of the 
ground was impossible, he resorted to wood-cutting, cutting and cord- 
ing the wood himself, and hauling it to market in St. Louis, a distance 
of eleven miles. His dress and appearance were that of a sturdy 
woodman. He built a log-house on his farm, and lived simply, spend- 
ing most of his time with his family, for his habits were domestic. He 
was never so happy as when with his wife and children. Ho now had 
three sons and a daughter. 

Once in a while, on driving his cart into town, he met some old 
army friends who were stationed at his former post of Jefferson Bar- 



10 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

racks. These were always glad to welcome him and talk over other 
times, thinking it no disgrace to him that he endeavored to earn an 
honest livelihood, though in a plain and humble way. Yet some of his 
other and more fashionable associates sometimes turned their heads if 
they saw him approaching in a woodman's blouse. The same men 
since have been conspicuous in asking favors of him whom they onco 
were unwilling to recognize. 

But with all his industry "he did not succeed. He tried collecting 
money, but for this he had no talent. He was too modest to thrive at 
the dunning trade, and at times his circumstances were narrow indeed. 
Providence was preparing him, by hardships and experiences of every 
sort, to know both himself and the people whose destinies he was there- 
after to guide. Had he been luxuriously bred, the traits which adverse 
fortune developed might have been smothered in the hot-bed of suc- 
cess; the endurance, the patience, the knowledge of men, the persist- 
ency of purpose which stood this nation in so much stead in her hour 
of peril, might never have ripened to their fruition in the last eight 
years. 

In 1859, finding that he made no progress in St. Louis, Grant 
removed with his family to Galena, where his father and brothers 
were engaged in the leather trade. They gave him occupation, and 
here he remained nearly a year. His house was simple, like his 
habits; his daily employment was trading leather, at wholesale and 
retail. He seemed to have forgotten his military life and pursuits. 
The title of captain, by which he still was known, hardly recalled to 
him the storming of Chapultepec or the guns that he so gallantly 
mounted in crazy steeples under the walls of Mexico. There was 
no indication visible to any of the inhabitants of Galena which fore*- 
told that he should ever become the foremost man in America. No 
restless ambition disturbed his spirits, no craving for fame made him 
dissatisfied with obscurity. Those nearest him never suspected that 
he possessed extraordinary ability. He himself never dreamed that 
he was destined to great place and power. Like Washington and 
Cromwell, he lived far retired from the haunts of public men, until 
the needs of his time and his country called him forth. 

Yet all this while he was known for practical sense, for good clear 
judgment, for moderate but determined opinions, for scrupulous purity, 
for staunch friendships, for all the traits that make up the character 
of a man of honor. All this while he made men love him who knew 
him well, and saw him so free from guile, so full of warm affection. 



LIFE OF GENEKAL GRANT. 11 

All this while, unconscious to himself, he was laying the foundations 
of that greatness which to-day is known in both hemispheres. This 
varied experience of soldier, farmer, and trader, of northern and 
southern, of eastern and western life, this frontier career, these two 
years in a foreign land, this dealing with the people of Oregon and 
Michigan, of New York and St. Louis and Galena, gave him a wide 
and thorough sympathy with all classes of the American people; 
made him, unknown to himself, a representative American. In war, 
he had served under the two greatest captains that the American 
army had produced during the century; he had seen the strategy of 
Taylor and Scott, he had shared in the battles of each, had witnessed 
marches and sieges and assaults. In peace, the leather merchant of 
Galena, now thirty-nine years old, had seen and learned more of life, 
had laid its lessons more to heart than many of his countrymen whose 
names were then well known to fame. 

He had learned patience when hope was long deferred ; he had 
learned courage and endurance under heavy and repeated difficulties; 
he had shown that he possessed persistency of resolve and fertility 
of resource; that he never despaired. If one means failed he tried 
another. He had shown, above all, content under ill fortui e and with 
little things, and was now ready, though he dreamed not of it, for 
great achievements and extraordinary place and power. Until the 
country had need of him, Providence kept him in training for the 
emergencies with which he was to cope. But now the fullness of time 
had arrived. 

OUTBREAK OF THE "WAR. 

The abolition or extension of slavery was a question which had 
agitated the American Union ever since that Union had existed. A 
majority of the inhabitants of the South were determined that the 
institution should be extended into all the territory not already 
divided into States. A majority of the population of the North was 
equally determined that it should be restrained within the limits of 
those States where it already existed. 

The Republican party was inaugurated for the express purpose of 
preventing the extension of slavery, and finally succeeded in obtain- 
ing possession of the Government. Upon this event the leaders of 
the South at once determined on forcible resistance. They indeed had 
long meant to sever all connection with the North, and set up an inde- 
pendent government for themselves, but hitherto had been obliged to 



12 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

veil their intentions. Now, however, they succeeded in dragging the 
entire population of the South after them and with them into rebel- 
lion. An armed attack was made upon a national fort in the harbor of 
Charleston, South Carolina. The forces of the Government resisted, 
but the rebels were successful, and Fort Sumter submitted to what 
was called the Confederacy. From this moment the great mass of the 
people at the North forgot all their old political differences, and set 
themselves about the work of suppressing the revolt. A few traitors 
lingered here and there, but they dared not openly give utterance to 
their sentiments, and were lost in the mighty uprising of the nation 
determined to protect its own existence. The South, on the contrary, 
was all swept into the vortex of treason, and the mightiest civil Avar 
in history was inaugurated. 

Two days after the outbreak of the war, the President issued a 
call for seventy-five thousand volunteer troops, and three days after 
that proclamation appeared, a public meeting was held in Galena, 
in response to the call; Captain Grant presided. He had never occu- 
pied a position of this character before; he was no politician, but his 
former connection with the regular army gave him a fitness for the 
post, and, although he had voted for Buchanan against Fremont, in 
1856, he was untainted with any secession doctrine. The attack upon 
the flag under which he had fought appealed to every instinct of his 
nature, every principle of his intellect, and he immediately determined 
that his place was in the field. He had been educated by the country, 
and felt that the country had an especial right to his services in her 
hour of trial. He at once began to put his affairs in order, and in 
less than a week was drilling a company of volunteers. On the 23d 
of April he started with his company for Springfield, the capital of 
Illinois. His services were then offered to the Governor of the State, 
who at this period, when the simplest principles of military organiza- 
tion were unfamiliar, was glad to avail himself of the knowledge of an 
old army officer. Grant served five weeks, most of the time mustering 
in new troops, under the direction of the Governor. Meanwhile, he 
wrote to Washington, and offered himself to the National Govern- 
ment in any capacity that might be desired. His letter, however, 
was not answered, it was not even put on file, and the insignificant 
captain received no reply. This, however, did not repel him from the 
duty which he owed his country, and he went to Cincinnati, hoping 
to obtain a position on the staff of Major General McClellan. He 
was too modest to make an application, an.d nothing was offered him. 



LIFE- OF GENERAL GRANT. 13 

He did not even succeed in gaining access to McClellan's presence. 
Still, he was resolved to enter the army, and returned to his mustering 
at Springfield, where, early in June, he was offered the twenty-first 
regiment of Illinois volunteers. It was a fortunate day for the 
country when Governor Yates made out the commission for the man 
who was fated to lead the American armies to so many victories. 

Colonel Grant at once took command of his regiment, and was 
stationed at first in Missouri, where he was occupied in watching 
the movements of various guerrilla bands, by which that State was 
infested. Shortly afterwards the Hon. E. B. Washburne suggested 
his name to the President for a brigadier generalship. Mr. Wash- 
burne had long been the member of Congress from Galena, but first 
made Grant's acquaintance at the public meeting held there after the 
President's first call for troops. He then noticed the fervid patriotism 
and prompt energy of the captain, and, seeing him again at Spring- 
field, was again impressed with his diligence and earnestness in a 
subordinate position, and, when the President asked who should be 
appointed a brigadier from Illinois, Washburne suggested Colonel 
Grant. On the 7th of August the new general was commissioned, to 
date from May 17. He knew nothing of his promotion for some time 
afterwards, till a friend called his attention to the announcement in 
the newspapers. Washburne had never spoken nor written to him on 
the subject, and his surprise was great to find himself a brigadier. 
No promotion indeed that he ever received was suggested or procured 
or expedited by any act or word of his. All his honors have come to 
him unsought. 

PADUCAH. 

On the 1st of September, 1861, General Fre'mont, his immediate 
commander, created for him the district of southeast Missouri, with 
headquarters at Cairo, Illinois. His duty was to protect the country 
near the junction of the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky 
rivers. None of this region had then been formally occupied by rebel 
troops; and even the national forces had not entered the State of 
Kentucky, which at that time claimed to be neutral in the contest. 
But it was evident that this neutrality would not long be respected by 
the rebel authorities ; neither was it recognized by those who fought 
for the Union. Two days after Grant arrived at Cairo, he heard that 
the rebel General Polk had invaded the State, seizing two important 
places on the Mississippi, and threatening Paducah at the point whore 



14 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

the Tennessee river empties into the Ohio. This latter place it was 
important to secure, as it commanded the navigation of both streams. 
Grant at once informed Frdmont of the news, adding, "I am getting 
ready to go to Paducah. Will start at six-and-a-half o'clock." That 
night he did start, having received no orders from Fremont. He 
embarked two regiments and a battery on transports, and, steaming 
up the Ohio, arrived at Paducah next morning, seized the town with- 
out firing a gun, and secured this important place, which never after- 
wards passed out of the national possession. A rebel general officer 
and his staff were in the town, making preparations for its occupancy, 
but escaped by the railroad while the national troops were landing, 
and a large rebel force was only sixteen miles off; but Kentucky, by 
this bold stroke, was secured to the Union. The Legislature at once 
declared in favor of the Government, and all talk of the secession or 
neutrality of the State was abandoned. Kentucky was, indeed, a 
battle-ground long and often afterwards, but its authorities from that 
time were firm in their allegiance. Grant himself went back the same 
day to Cairo, and found there Fremont's permission to take Paducah, 
"if he felt strong enough." 

BELMONT. 

Nothing of importance occurred after this for nearly eight weeks. 
Troops were added to Grant's command, and all his time was spent in 
drilling and organizing them. They were of course entirely raw, 
officers and men were ignorant of the very rudiments of the military 
art; and Grant never worked harder in his life than in preparing these 
new soldiers to take the field. Early in November he got orders from 
Fremont to make a demonstration upon a little place called Belmont, 
on the west bank of the Mississippi, some twenty miles below Cairo. 
It had no importance in itself, for it was directly under the guns of 
Columbus, a considerable work on the opposite shore. Columbus was 
too strongly fortified and too largely garrisoned to allow any chance 
of its capture, but rebel forces were being sent from there into 
Missouri, and annoying Fremont's operations in that State. Grant 
was accordingly instructed to move troops south from Cairo, on both 
sides of the river, with a view to distract the enemy and prevent 
any further crossing. The day after this order was given, however, 
Fremont sent word of a rebel force in Missouri, about fifty miles 
to the southwest of Cairo, and ordered Grant to intercept it. Ac- 



LIFE OP GExVERAL GRANT. 15 

cordingly, on the 3d of November, Grant sent three thousand men, 
under Colonel Oglesby, in the direction indicated. This delayed 
the demonstration previously contemplated. But on the 5th Fre- 
mont again telegraphed that reinforcements were being sent from 
Columbus, and directed the original demonstration to be made at once. 
In obedience to this, Grant the same day despatched several regiments 
to the rear of Columbus, with orders not to attack, but to keep the 
enemy from throwing more force across the river, and on the 6th he 
moved himself, with three thousand men on transports, down the river 
towards Belmont. During the night he learned that still larger forces 
had been sent by the rebels from Columbus, to interrupt the troops 
that he had ordered into Missouri three days before. This decided 
him to make an absolute attack on Belmont, in order to bring back 
the rebels from the interior of Missouri, and thus save the detachment 
under Oglesby. Pie determined to destroy or capture all the troops 
at Belmont, and get off again before the rebels could reinforce. 

Landing at daybreak about three miles above Belmont, he marched 
at once in the direction of the rebel camp. But the enemy soon came 
out to meet him, and a desperate encounter ensued, lasting several 
hours, during which Grant was in the thickest of the fight, and had 
his horse shot under him. He finally drove the rebels in great con- 
fusion to their camp, which was defended by a rough abatis. This, 
however, proved insufficient to stay the soldiers of the Union, and the 
rebels fled in dismay to the river bank, where they were covered by 
the guns of their great fort at Columbus. Grant having accomplished 
his object, now strove to get his men together and return, but the 
confusion consequent upon victory was too much for these raw troops. 
They shouted and ran around the camps, and were utterly uncontroll- 
able. The rebels meanwhile had begun to send reinforcements across 
the river from Columbus, and it was necessary to do something at 
once. Accordingly, Grant ordered his staff officers to set the camps 
on fire, and then the men returned to the ranks. They were march- 
ing back in good order to their boats when the rebel reinforcements 
arrived, and, making a short cut, threw themselves directly in front of 
Grant's little column. The national soldiers were at first greatly dis- 
turbed at the sight, supposing themselves cut off. One of Grant's 
officers came up to him in dismay with the news that they were sur- 
rounded. But Grant remarked, calmly, *'If that is so, we must cut 
our way out as we cut our way in." The troops at once took heart, 
when they found they had a leader, and Grant calling out, " We have 



16 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

whipped them once, I think we can do it again" they rallied, charged, 
and again dispersed the enemy, who retreated once more under cover 
of the river banks. 

The rebel reinforcements, however, continued to arrive in great 
numbers, and Grant pushed his men on rapidly, but remained himself 
farther behind, to superintend those who were gathering up the 
Wounded. While thus engaged he got entirely outside of his own sol- 
diers, and directly in front of the third rebel line, which was now 
greatly increased and advancing rapidly towards the national trans- 
ports. Grant fortunately wore a private's overcoat, for the day was 
cold, and the rebels did not recognize him for an officer. A rebel 
general, indeed, cried out, "There, men, is a Yankee, if you want to 
try your aim," but they were too eager to reach the steamers then, 
and nobody aimed at Grant. He, however, saw that there was no 
time to lose, and, putting spurs to his horse, rode rapidly back to 
his command. 

By this time the enemy had opened a heavy musketry fire, and 
Grant got aboard under a storm of bullets. His men were already 
on the transports before him, and at once put off. The rebels fired 
too high, and no one was killed, while two gunboats that had acted as 
a convoy for the troops opened with grape and canister, and did great 
execution in the enemy's ranks. Seven thousand rebels were engaged 
in this fight against Grant's three thousand, and the enemy lost six 
hundred men, a third more than Grant. Grant carried off two pieces 
of artillery, and nearly two hundred prisoners. 

This was the first battle in which he commanded, and it illustrated 
in a peculiar degree the coolness and judgment and gallantry for 
which he afterwards was so remarkable. The promptness with which 
he decided upon converting the demonstration into an attack, the 
vigor of his movement, the equanimity with which he sustained the 
spirits of his troops when they flagged under unexpected appearances 
of reverse, and the steadiness with which he acted when greatly out- 
numbered, were all traits that foretold to those who could read them, 
the ability of a great commander. 

FORT HENRY 

Two days after the battle of Belmont, General Fre'mont was super- 
seded by General Halleck, who made no immediate change in Grant's 
command. The rebels at this time were in great strength at Colum- 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 17 

bus, holding the Mississippi river from that place downward. A line 
drawn eastward from the Father of Waters at Columbus, would strike 
the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers a few miles north of the bound- 
ary between Kentucky and Tennessee. Near this boundary two forts 
were erected, one on each stream; that on the Tennessee was called 
Fort Henry, that on the Cumberland, Fort Donelson. Still further 
east, at Bowling Green, about a hundred and twenty miles from the 
Mississippi, another great depot of men and arms was established by 
the enemy. 

These various points constituted an admirable line, stretching nearly 
across the State of Kentucky, behind which rebellion was rampant 
and secure, and beyond which it constantly threatened to sally against 
the forces of the Government. Grant early conceived the idea of 
piercing this line at its centre, by the capture of Fort Henry. He 
proposed this in conversation with Halleck in January, 1862, but 
received a rebuff for his pains. Notwithstanding, on the 28th of the 
same month, he repeated the proposition by telegraph; "With permis- 
sion, I will take and hold Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, and establish 
and hold a large camp there." The next day he wrote at length, 
detailing the advantages of the movement, and insisting on the neces- 
sity of prompt action, before the rebel defenses should be so strength- 
ened as to become impregnable. In this application he was joined by 
Commodore Foote, who commanded the naval force in the western 
waters, but was under Halleck's orders. Halleck now consented to 
the movement, and on the next day, February 2d, Grant started from 
Cairo with seventeen hundred men on transports. Foote accompanied 
him with seven gunboats. They reached a point on the Tennessee 
three miles below Fort Henry on the 4th, and the troops at once 
began to land. Fort Henry was on the eastern shore, and a small but 
unfinished work was on the opposite bank. The two places were gar- 
risoned by two thousand eight hundred men, under General Tilgh- 
man. The Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers are at this point 
only twelve miles apart, and a direct road connected Fort Henry with 
Fort Donelson. 

Grant's plan was to surround Fort Henry on the land side with his 
troops, so as to cut off the garrison either from reinforcements or 
from any chance of escape, while Foote was to attack in front with 
his gunboats. The Tennessee, however, had overflowed its banks, so 
that the roads were almost impassable. Bridges were swept away, 
ami the rain'was falling in torrents. Besides this, Grant had not 
2 



18 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

steamers enough to bring all his troops from Cairo at once, and, 
having debarked a portion, was obliged to send back his transports 
for the remainder. This delayed his movements a day or two, and 
the rebels availed themselves of the chance to strengthen the fort. 
It was not until near midnight of the 5th that all of Grant's troops 
could be got ashore. 

The landing was north of the fort, and just outside of the range of 
its guns. Two brigades were ordered to disembark on the western 
bank, and seize the opposite work, while the remainder were to march 
at eleven o'clock on the morning of the 6th, and take position east of 
Fort Henry, so as to invest it, and "be ready to charge and take the 
work by storm promptly on the receipt of orders." These instruc- 
tions were given out before all the troops had arrived, but it was 
reported that the rebels were reinforcing, and it was therefore neces- 
sary to be prompt. 

The troops moved at the hour appointed, but they had eight miles 
to march, streams to bridge, and roads to cut through the woods, the 
ordinary ones having been destroyed by the freshet. Meanwhile 
Foote advanced and attacked with his gunboats, and in less than an 
hour and a half the fort surrendered. Only sixty men, however, were 
captured, for Tilghman, the rebel commander, foreseeing the proba- 
bility of not being able to hold out, had stationed the rest of the 
garrison, over two thousand seven hundred strong, at the outworks, 
about two miles off, and before the fight began he sent them orders 
to retreat upon Fort Donelson. They obeyed, and, when Grant got 
up from struggling through the swamps and mire, the main rebel force 
had escaped. The fort, with seventeen heavy guns, was turned over 
to him by Foote, and a detachment of cavalry was sent out at once to 
pursue the retreating enemy. The rebels, however, had already got 
too far for this to avail; a few prisoners and two guns were captured, 
and the pursuit was abandoned. 

FORT DONELSON. 

The same day Grant telegraphed to Halleck, "Fort Henry is ours." 
He gave, however, the credit where it was due: "The gunboats silenced 
the batteries before the investment was completed." Then, with the 
same almost laughable audacity with which he had announced that 
"with permission he would take and hold Fort Henry," he added, "7 
shall take and destroy Fort Donelson on the 8th, and return to Fort 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 19 

Henry." At this time Halleck had never mentioned the subject of 
?ort Donelson to Grant, but the latter, with the clear perception and 
[uick decision which are so indispensable in a great soldier, at once saw 
he necessity of acting before the rebels had recovered from the effect 
>f the blow already dealt. He therefore determined without orders. 

The roads, however, again impeded his movements. The whole 
:ountry was inundated, and Fort Henry almost an island. The troops 
lad to be used for a day or two in saving what had been gained from 
he rapidly-rising deluge. Meanwhile Halleck forwarded reinforce- 
aents. He gave, however, no encouragement to Grant's advance. 
le countermanded nothing, it is true, but all his despatches dwelt on 
he necessity of defending Fort Henry, while all of Grant's idea was 
o attack Fort Donelson. That, he thought, was the surest way to 
lefend Fort Henry. While one was telegraphing about picks and 
hovels on the Tennessee, the other replied by asking for heavy ord- 
lance for the siege on the Cumberland. 

The rebels now were wide awake to their danger, and, hurrying 
roops to Fort Donelson ; they also strained every nerve to strengthen 
ta defence on all sides, and succeeded in making one of the most 
ormidable works that had been constructed at that period of the war. 
xrant was ready to start by the 10th, but Foote had sent some of his 
gunboats up the river, and it was necessary to wait for their return. 
)n the 11th, however, Foote started with the fleet and all the rein- 
brcements that had yet arrived from Halleck. These went around by 
he Ohio and Cumberland rivers, and the same day Grant's advance 
aoved out in the rear of Fort Henry, three or four miles towards 
?ort Donelson. On the 12th the main column, fifteen thousand 
trong, was in motion. The orders were to take neither tents nor bag- 
tage, but forty rounds of ammunition per man. No rations were 
urnished, except those in haversacks, as supplies were to meet them 
»n their arrival at the Cumberland. Before noon they came in sight 
if the enemy's lines. 

The fort itself was on an eminence commanding the Cumberland, 
md covered over a hundred acres. It was manned by seventeen 
teavy guns. Outside of this were two strong lines of entrenchments 
vith abatis. These lines were admirably located on commanding 
idges, and protected by detached works; the nature of the ground 
dso afforded a peculiar defence to the rebels, broken as it was by 
•avines and streams and rugged hills. On each side of the rebel line 
Tas a creek, whose waters were now high, and these creeks furnished 



20 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

additional defences to the besieged, whose line was nearly three miles 
long, stretching from stream to stream. The garrison, nearly twenty- 
two thousand strong, was commanded by General Floyd, the traitorous 
member of Buchanan's Cabinet, whose perfidy in civil life was destined 
to be eclipsed by the baseness with which he deserted his fellow rebels 
when disaster became inevitable. 

Thus, with his little army, not more than two-thirds as large as the 
rebel force, and with one or two light batteries, Grant marched up to 
a formidable work, defended by heavy artillery and sixty-seven field 
guns, as daring an attempt as is presented in the history of war. As 
yet no reinforcements had arrived, and the gunboats had not appeared. 
Halleck thought his subordinate was still fortifying Fort Henry, but 
Grant was convinced that unless this movement were made with 
promptness, Fort Donelson would not be taken at all, and he had con- 
fidence in himself and in his men. The investment was begun at 
once, and by nightfall the Union left rested on the creek north of the 
fort, while the right reached nearly to the stream on the south. All 
the next day was spent in studying the ground and perfecting the 
investment, but the attack could not begin, as neither the reinforce- 
ments nor the gunboats had arrived. The aspect of affairs was 
gloomy. The besieging force, unsupported, uncovered by works, and 
in front of an army so much larger than itself, was in imminent peril. 
Two or three engagements occurred along the lines, provoked without 
Grant's orders, and the result of these was not encouraging. But the 
enemy, fortunately, did not come out in force. 

All night the cold was intense. It was February, and the ground 
was covered with snow. Hail fell fast, and a more inclement storm 
was never known in that latitude. The troops were without tents ; 
many were frozen, their rations were scanty, and the pickets were so 
close to the enemy that no camp-fires could be allowed. An inter- 
change of shots continued all night, and the groans of the wounded 
were mingled with the shrieking of the wind, the whistling of bullets, 
and the crash of falling trees, cut down either by the storm or the 
fire of the enemy. Before daylight, however, Foote arrived with the 
reinforcements and supplies — a welcome sight, indeed. The garrison, 
left at Fort Hem-y had also been ordered across by land, leaving only 
a small force there. Grant's command now consisted of three divis- 
ions; McClernand had the right, Lewis Wallace the centre, and 0. 
F. Smith the left of his line. 

At three o'clock on the afternoon of the 14th, Foote attacked the 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 21 

fort with six gunboats. Grant's forces were all under arms, ready to 
assault on the land side, in case of success in the water attack. But 
Foote was unfortunate; two of his vessels were entirely disabled, and 
two others rendered temporarily unmanageable. He himself was 
wounded and obliged to withdraw. That night he requested Grant 
to come aboard his flagship, and there declared that his fleet was so 
much damaged as to render it necessary for him to return to Cairo 
for repairs. He urged Grant not to attack in his absence, and this 
indeed seemed the truest policy for the national general. It was not, 
however, the policy of the enemy to allow such a course. Grant's 
reinforcements were pouring in fast; his army was now equal in 
numbers to the besieged, though in artillery, and of course in posi- 
tion it was still far inferior. While Grant was on the flagship, con- 
sulting with Foote, the rebels, too, held a council of war. They per- 
ceived that if they remained quiet they would certainly be completely 
surrounded, and eventually compelled to surrender. They deter- 
mined, therefore, to mass on their left, and, coming out of their lines 
on the morning of the 15th, assault Grant's right, which was his 
weakest wing, not quite extending to the creek on the south side of 
the fort. 

They acted promptly, and at early dawn assaulted McClernand in 
great numbers. The national defence was vigorous, but vain, and 
McClernand was pushed back upon the centre. Lewis Wallace sup- 
ported him with nearly all his force, and the battle raged heavily here 
for hours. The rebels maintained the fight with artillery as well as 
infantry, and in numbers decidedly superior to those engaged against 
them. Grant meanwhile was on the gunboat, which he did not leave 
till morning, as his interview with Foote was important and protracted. 
No noise of the conflict had reached his ears, for the wind blew in an 
opposite direction, and the fight was on the extreme southern point of 
the entire position, while the fleet had of course withdrawn to the 
north. 

It was nine o'clock before Grant got ashore. As he was approach- 
ing his headquarters, he was met with news of the battle still raging. 
He at once directed Smith, whose troops had not been engaged, to get 
himself in readiness to attack, as this would be the quickest way to 
relieve the hard-pressed forces on the right. Then riding on, he 
speedily arrived at that part of the field where the fighting had been 
most severe. The rebels had not succeeded in forcing their way 
through, and were slowly finding a route back towards their works. 



22 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

The national troops had held their ground, but were very much dis- 
ordered; in no condition to follow up the enemy. They were mostly 
raw, and had been taken aback by the rebel assault ; especially the 
news that the enemy had come out with knapsacks and haversacks 
seemed to appal them. They told this to Grant as evidence that the 
rebels meant to stay outside of their works and fight for several days. 
He, however, at once detected the significance of this news. "Are 
the haversacks filled?" he asked. Prisoners were examined, and the 
haversacks found to contain three days' rations. "Then they mean 
to cut their way out; they have no idea of staying here to fight us." 
He saw immediately why the haversacks were filled. The plan of the 
rebels to break through the investment and escape was evident to 
him at a glance. It was also evident that if they made this plan they 
must be despairing, and now, therefore, was the time to attack them. 

He looked around the field, and saw both sides exhausted ; either 
was ready to retreat if hard pressed. This was the moment to con- 
vert battle into victory. " Whichever party first attacks now will win" 
he exclaimed, '■'■and the rebels will have to be very quick if they beat 
me." He set his staff to work to reassure the drooping spirits of the 
soldiers. He told the troops himself that the attack of the morning 
was the last desperate effort of the enemy to escape. He revived their 
confidence and inspired their courage. The men had been disorgan- 
ized and scattered all over the field, but they took new heart at this 
idea, and returned at once to the ranks. Then he rode rapidly back 
to the left, and ordered Smith to attack immediately and with all his 
force, while the other two divisions which had been so hotly engaged 
all day were to take advantage of this diversion of Smith, and recover 
the advantage they had almost lost. 

Smith advanced at once and with great alacrity. The ground was 
exceedingly difficult, but he charged at the head of his troops, and the 
effect was irresistible. He carried everything before him, penetrated 
the first line of entrenchments, and secured a hill which commanded 
all within; in fact, the key to the possession of the fort. The troops 
on the right advanced at the same time, and as the enemy was obliged 
to hurry to the defence of the point in front of Smith, Wallace and 
McClernand regained their ground and the guns they had lost in the 
morning. It was dark before the battle ceased, and only darkness 
saved the rebels from losing their entire fort by storm. Still it was 
evident to both sides that the place was won. 

At daylight next morning, a white flag was sent to Grant with pro- 



LIFE OF GENEKAL GRANT. 2b 

positions for surrender. Floyd had deserted his command; Pillow, 
the next in rank, had followed his example, and General S. B. Buck- 
ner was left at the head of the rebel force. He asked for an armistice, 
and the appointment of commissioners to settle terms of capitulation. 
Grant, who was preparing to storm the works, appreciated thoroughly 
the situation of affairs, and replied in the well-known words: "JVb 
terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I 
propose to move immediately upon your works." Buckner had no option 
and at once acquiesced. Grant, however, allowed the officers to retain 
their swords, and both officers and men their personal effects. He had 
no desire unnecessarily to humiliate those whom he had captured. 
The same spirit which he displayed then was manifest again and again 
during the war. It was Ms lot to receive the surrender of more and 
larger forces than any other soldier of modern times. He was always 
as unconditional and determined in battle as at Donelson, and always 
as magnanimous in victory, again and again extracting from the very 
men whom he conquered, tributes of gratitude. Buckner in this 
instance took Grant with him to his troops, and told them of the kind- 
ness and consideration with which the rebel army had been treated 
by their victor. 

Grant captured at this place fifteen thousand men, seventeen thousand 
muskets, and sixty-five pieces of artillery. The rebels had lost two 
thousand five hundred in killed and wounded, and nearly four thousand 
escaped in steamers in the night up the river, or made their way on 
horses through the swollen creek on the south of Fort Donelson. 
Grant's force at the time of the surrender amounted to twenty-seven 
thousand; but his reinforcements were constantly coming up for sev- 
eral days afterwards. His losses during the siege were four hundred 
and twenty-five killed, and one thousand five hundred and sixteen 
wounded and missing. The results of this achievement extended, how- 
ever, far beyond the capture of men and material. The Tennessee 
and Cumberland rivers were now opened to the national forces, and 
two great highways unbarred, by which access to the interior of the 
rebellious region was made secure. The entire States of Tennessee 
and Kentucky were uncovered. Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, 
surrendered to the troops of Buell, for it was now defenceless. Fort 
Donelson had been its bulwark. Columbus, on the Mississippi, and 
Bowling Green, a hundred miles to the east, where the rebels had 
collected one of their largest armies, were turned, and both speedily 
evacuated. The country rang with applause. Grant was made a 



24 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

major general of volunteers, and from this time his name has been 
familiar in every household in America. 

Up to the capture of Fort Donelson no very brilliant or decided 
success had attended the national arms. Other commanders had 
promised much; much had been expected from them ; but nothing had 
been accomplished. Suddenly this obscure soldier in the West, whose 
very name was unknown to nine-tenths of his countrymen, achieved 
a victory that lifted up the national heart, that inspirited the army, 
that displayed ability of the highest military order, and promised fur- 
ther success wherever he should command. From ihe extreme of 
depression to an elation almost without parallel, the people passed at- 
one bound. Had they known then, how often again this same com- 
mander was destined, in an hour of sadness and defeat, to lead their 
armies to brilliant victory, and crown their hopes with more than 
fruition, their gratitude would have been as boundless as his services 
were destined to be unparalleled. 

SHILOH. 

Donelson fell on the 16th of February, 1862, and on the 1st of 
March, Grant was ordered to moye his entire column up the Tennessee 
river, as far as Eastport, Mississippi, in order to destroy the railroad 
connections at Corinth, Jackson, and Humboldt. These orders reached 
him on the 2d of March, and on the 4th his army was in motion. The 
same day Halleck telegraphed him to turn over the command to 
C. F. Smith, one of his subordinates, and remain himself at Fort 
Henry. This was in consequence of some statements made to Hal- 
leck, that Grant had neglected his duty at Fort Donelson, and over- 
stepped it in other instances, going to Nashville without leave. 
Halleck immediately telegraphed news of these acts to McClellan, 
then general-in-chief at Washington, and received permission not 
only to relieve Grant from duty, but to place him in arrest. A long 
and animated correspondence ensued, the upshot of which was that 
Halleck withdrew all his accusations, declaring to the Government 
that Grant had acted entirely from praiseworthy motives, and that 
all the reported irregularities had been satisfactorily explained. He 
also wrote flattering letters to Grant, and restored him to his com- 
mand, but failed to inform him that the trouble had originated in his 
own reports to Washington. 

On the 13th of March, Grant was ordered to resume his command, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 25 

and on the 17th rejoined bis troops. He wrote to Sherman on that 
day, "I have just arrived, and although sick for the last few weeks, 
begin to feel better at the thought of being again with the troops." The 
expedition under Smith had accomplished nothing, and the army was 
now divided, a part being at Pittsburg Landing, on the western bank 
of the Tennessee, and the remainder at Savanna, a point on the oppo- 
site shore, about nine miles lower down. The bulk of the troops were 
at Pittsburg Landing, from which they threatened Corinth, the junc- 
tion of two great southern railroads, one running from Memphis to 
Charleston, the other from Mobile to the Ohio river. These roads 
connected the most distant extremities of the rebellious region, and 
it was of the highest importance to the enemy to protect them, and 
to the Government to obtain possession of them. The rebels accord- 
ingly, after their crushing defeat at Donelson, and the abandonment 
of their first great line, collected a large force at Corinth, to resist 
there any farther advance of Grant. Both parties bent all their 
efforts to secure this point. Halleck was given command of all the 
forces in Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as those in Missouri, and 
sent large reinforcements to Grant, besides ordering Buell's entire 
army, forty thousand strong, to move from Nashville to Grant's sup- 
port. 

As soon as Grant arrived at his post, he removed all his troops to 
the western side of the river, at Pittsburg Landing, but remained him- 
self for a few days at Savanna, where he could more easily superin- 
tend the organization of his daily arriving forces, and also communi- 
cate more directly with Buell, now on his way from Nashville. By 
the 20th of March, Buell was at Columbia, but from that point the 
roads were bad and his movements slow, and it took him seventeen 
days to get to Savanna. Meanwhile, Grant had distributed his troops 
into six divisions, under Generals McClernand, Smith, Wallace, Sher- 
man, Hurlbut, and Prentiss. He was about removing his headquar- 
ters to the eastern bank of the Tennessee, when he received a message 
from Buell, dated the 4th of April, stating that he would arrive on 
the 5th, and requesting Grant to remain at Savanna to meet him. 
With this Grant complied. Every day, however, he visited the front, 
at Pittsburg Landing. 

On the fourth, a serious skirmish took place between some of Sher- 
man's troops and a body of the enemy, now known to be in large 
force at Corinth, nineteen miles from the Landing. Grant rode out 
to the front with Sherman after this, and they both agreed that no 



26 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

probability of an immediate battle existed. Still Grant thought it 
best to be on tbe alert, and made various dispositions of troops, so as 
to be prepared in case of an important emergency. He instructed 
division commanders to bold themselves in readiness to support each 
other if attacked, and directed a sharp lookout to be kept with the 
advance guards. The pickets of several divisions were doubled in 
consequence, and cavalry patrols pushed out a mile and a half. On 
the 5th of April, the advance division of Buell's army arrived at 
Savanna, under General Nelson, and was ordered by Grant to be in 
readiness to reinforce the troops on the west bank. 

Meanwhile the rebel army, over forty thousand strong, under 

Albert Sidney Johnson, had marched from Corinth, on the 3d of 

April, intending to attack Grant before Buell could arrive. The 

roads, however, were bad, and Johnson was not ready to assault 

before the 6th, which was Sunday. Grant's troops were now disposed 

in two lines, the first about three miles out from the Tennessee. Two 

creeks emptying into the Tennessee, formed the right and left defences 

of his army. That on the right was known as Owl creek, that on the 

left was called Lick creek. Sherman's division was most advanced on 

the extreme right, near a meeting house called Shiloh Chapel ; to his 

left, but somewhat in the rear, was McClernand, then Prentiss, and 

on the extreme left a detached brigade of Sherman's division. The 

second line, a mile or more in rear, was composed of Smith's division 

on the right, this day commanded by W. H. L. Wallace, because of 

Smith's illness, and Hurlbut on the left. Lewis Wallace's division wa3 

at Crump's Landing, about five miles to the right of Sherman, covering 

an important road, by which the whole Union army might otherwise 

have been turned. The two lines faced south and southwest. There 

were no entrenchments. At this time, troops on neither side were 

accustomed to protect themselves in the open field, but the two streams 

upon which the army rested were both flooded, and the banks of Lick 

creek, on the left, were extremely rugged. These served as bulwarks 

for Grant. 

The attack was begun at daylight, on Sherman and Prentiss's 
divisions. They, however, were quite ready, the skirmishes of the 
last few days having warned them of the possibility of such an event. 
Prentiss formed his division outside of his camps, and there received 
the assault. Sherman too was prepared, and the whole command was 
rapidly under arms. It was necessary indeed to do their utmost, for 
the onslaught was fierce. There were not more than thirty-three thou- 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 27 

sand national troops on the ground, Lewis Wallace being five miles off. 
Grant was breakfasting at Savanna, when he heard the earliest firing ; 
his horse was already saddled for him to go out in search of Buell, 
but the artillery at once proclaimed a heavy engagement. He 
instantly sent word to Nelson to hurry up his command to the river, op- 
posite Pittsburg, and started himself by steamer for the Landing. On 
the way he stopped at Crump's Landing, and in person directed Lewis 
Wallace to hold himself in readiness for orders to march to Pitts- 
burg. Grant arrived on the field at eight o'clock, and found affairs 
looking black indeed. Neither Sherman nor Prentiss had been able 
to hold his own. Their troops were raw, and both divisions had been 
obliged to fall back. McClernand, however, was moved promptly to 
the support of Sherman, and Hurlbut reinforced Prentiss. W. H. 
L. Wallace was also moved to support the centre of the line, and the 
fight now became confused and terrific in the extreme. The country 
was broken, half covered with forest, and the evolutions of troops 
difficult. Sherman's left finally broke entirely, despite the desperate 
exertions of its commander, and a panic ensued that spread to thou- 
sands in the national ranks. Repeated orders were sent to hurry up 
the divisions of Nelson and Lewis Wallace, but those commands did 
not appear. Prentiss's division became exposed, its commander 
neglecting to withdraw, although the troops on each side of him were 
compelled to fall back; and late in the afternoon he was surrounded 
and taken prisoner with four regiments. This calamity disheartened 
many, and a crowd of fugitives, amounting to six or seven thousand, 
fled from the field to the gunboats. Those who remained, however, 
did their duty nobly. Grant was on every part of the field, exposing 
himself to the thickest of the fire, and encouraging both men and 
ofBcers. He was struck on the ankle once, but not hurt. Sherman 
and the other division commanders all displayed energy and courage. 
Grant felt the greatest anxiety for the arrival of Lewis Wallace and 
Nelson, and sent messenger after messenger to bring up those com- 
manders, but neither of them arrived. Nelson had a bad road to move 
over, but, although ordered to start at seven o'clock in the morning, for 
some unexplained cause, he failed to do so until one in the afternoon. 
After that he made all expedition. Lewis Wallace took the wrong 
road, and marched in a direction that led him away from the field. 

About two o'clock General Buell came on the field in person. He 
had heard the cannonading, and at once set about urging on his 
troops, two more divisions of which had arrived at Savanna. He 



28 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

reached Pittsburg at a moment when Grant happened to he at the 
Landing, endeavoring to stay the tide of runaways coming in from the 
front. It seemed to Buell that all was lost, and he asked Grant, 
"What preparations have you made for retreating, general?" This 
idea, however, had not presented itself to that officer, and he quietly 
replied, " I hav'nt despaired of whipping them yet." "No, of course," 
said Buell. "But, if you should be whipped, how will you get your 
men across the river? These transports will not take more than ten 
thousand troops." "If I have to retreat ," replied Grant, "ten thou- 
sand will be as many as I shall need transports for." 

Grant indeed always made his defence an offensive one. He was 
one of those soldiers who never despair of whipping the enemy, even 
when things look most gloomy. This confidence and obstinacy com- 
bined it was that made him ready to take advantage of every chance, 
and out of the very jaws of defeat to wrest victory. He believed 
that in every battle the combatants reach a point when each side is 
almost overcome, and the leader who then makes an almost superhu- 
man effort is sure to turn the scales in his own favor. That effort he 
was always ready to make, just when other men give up in despair. 
In the blackest crisis his faculties seemed most brilliant, at the most 
exhausting moment his strength was renewed with greatest vigor. 
When all depended upon holding out a little longer, or upon some 
wonderful inspiration that should suggest the salvation of an army, 
he was sure to hold out, the inspiration never failed. He who ordi- 
narily was almost phlegmatic, unimpassioned, what -some call dull, 
then was sharp, clear, decided, commanding not only men but events, 
bending even the enemy to his plans, seeing what they must be doing, 
and knowing what should be done to thwart them, and doing it. It 
was so at Donelson, where he turned the tide of disaster into success, 
divining in an instant the intention of the rebels from the apparently 
trivial circumstance of the haversacks, and perceiving (not a minute 
too late, as so many others do,) that the way to stem the advance on 
his right was to attack furiously at the other end of the line. The 
result was Smith's charge, and the capture of the fort. 

So at Shiloh, where he was outnumbered ; where thousands of his 
men failed him ; where his army was driven back by hard fighting, 
driven back for hours and for miles ; where Buell was thinking of 
retreat, and many generals would have prepared for surrender. But, 
if his troops were driven back, Grant's spirits were not; if some were 
beaten, he was thinking of u whipping 'em yet" and at four o'clock on 



LIFE OF GENERAL GPwANT. 29 

this dreadful day, he gave orders to Sherman for an attack on the 
morrow. There was a lull just then, as there had been at Donelson. 
The rebels had nearly won, but jaded, exhausted, they stopped to 
breathe, and Grant, before he knew of the arrival of BuelVs column, 
was preparing to take the initiative in the morning. For such a man, 
defeat was impossible. This peculiarity extorted the warmest admi- 
ration from his great friend, Sherman, who said, "This faith gave you 
victory at Shiloh ;" " The simple faith in success you have always 
manifested, which I can liken to nothing else than the faith a Chris- 
tian has in the Saviour." "I tell you it was this that made us act 
with confidence ; I knew, wherever I was, that you thought of me, and 
if I got in a tight place you would help me out, if alive." "Until you 
had won Donelson, I was almost cowed, but that admitted a ray of 
light I have followed since." 

But the rebel commander was killed, and his successor, Beauregard, 
lacked just this quality which distinguished Grant. He made one 
last attempt to drive the national troops into the river, and failing in 
this, drew off, to wait till morning. Two of Nelson's regiments, the 
head of his column, came up at this juncture, but their arrival was 
unknown to Beauregard; darkness came on just as they crossed the 
Tennessee, and both armies slept on the field. All night long, Buell's 
army continued to arrive; all night Grant was posting them. He 
gave the fresh troops the extreme left, nearest the river and the bulk 
of the enemy, and reformed the shattered battalions that had fought 
so hard on Sunday. He visited each division commander himself, the 
rain falling in torrents. The troops were drenched. The gunboats 
kept up an incessant fire on the enemy, and the mingled storm of rain 
and shell was as terrible as the heat of the battle of yesterday. Lewis 
Wallace arrived soon after nightfall, and was given the extreme right. 

At daybreak Grant attacked with vigor all along his new line. 
Twenty thousand reinforcements had reached him, and the presence 
of this immense addition was felt at once. It was soon evident that 
the tables were turned. The rebels, so exultant the day before, were 
now hard pressed themselves. All the ground, all the camps and 
guns they had won, were regained. Still the fighting was desperate. 
It was a great conflict between Southern impetuosity and Northern 
determination. It was this on both days, but on the former day that 
determination, incarnated as it was in Grant, stood up against the 
odds ; and on the second, the rebel impetuosity succumbed when out- 
numbered. About two o'clock Beauregard withdrew from the field. 



30 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

One of the last encounters occurred as the First Ohio volunteers 
were moving across afield near Grant. Another regiment near by was 
hard pressed, and Grant stopped the First Ohio, and himself ordered 
it to charge in support of the endangered force. He rode with it in 
the line of battle, the men cheering him with enthusiasm. Both regi- 
ments were fired at the sight ; they pressed on, Grant with them, drove 
the rebels in their front, and seized one of the last positions yet main- 
tained by the enemy. 

The rain had again begun to fall heavily, darkness was now 
approaching, the troops were frightfully exhausted with the extraor- 
dinary efforts of the two days, but a force was sent out in pursuit of 
Beauregard. He, however, had got so far that it was not judged 
expedient to follow in force. Grant lost in the two days' battle one 
thousand seven hundred killed, and over ten thousand wounded and 
missing. Beauregard reported one thousand seven hundred and 
twenty-eight killed, and nine thousand wounded and missing. And 
thus the great effort of the rebels to assume the offensive at the West 
was defeated; the most furious onslaught they ever made was repelled. 
The loyal West was saved from invasion. The mightiest armament 
the enemy had got together in that part of the theatre of war was 
driven back. Beauregard telegraphed his government, " we retired 
to our entrenchments at Corinth, which we can hold.'" On the 8th, he 
asked permission from Grant to bury his dead on the field, but the 
Union commander had already performed the task. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Grant's unshakable steadiness and 
determination had proved the salvation of his army and of the entire 
West, there were not wanting those who maligned him bitterly on 
account of the battle of Shiloh. At various times in his career, he, 
like most other men of genius and virtue, has been the target of 
bitter and violent abuse. The best patriots of the American Revolu- 
tion were not exempt, Washington himself suffering as much from 
the tongues and pens of recreant countrymen as the blackest charac- 
ter of the day; and it was not to be supposed that Grant, now rising 
rapidly to eminence and fame, could escape the penalty which great- 
ness always has to pay. Envy, ingratitude, hatred, calumny, did 
their worst. After the brilliant success at Donelson, symptoms of 
this at once appeared. Men above and below him in military rank 
sought even then to supplant him in the estimation of the public, 
attributed his triumph to others or to fortune, and charged him with 
faults and vices which they hoped would obscure the lustre of his 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT 31 

deeds. The result has been shown; he was relieved from his com- 
mand, immediately after the most splendid victory that had then been 
won by our arms. But this could not last, and he was forced back 
by public opinion into the place that he had earned. After Shiloh, 
however, came a still more violent outbreak. He was assailed on all 
sides for his conduct in a battle where his greatest qualities were as 
conspicuous as they have ever been before or since ; where his own 
personal exertions saved the nation from crushing defeat; where he 
held up the drooping spirits and sustained the flagging energies of 
both officers and men, under circumstances that appalled many of 
the bravest hearts; where disaster seemed so inevitable that a dis- 
tinguished soldier, just arriving on the field, and who had not gone 
through the terrible conflict of the day, yet getting a glimpse of the 
battle, inquired, at once, "What dispositions have you made for 
retreat?" so unavoidable did further disaster seem; when even Sher- 
man was surprised at being ordered to renew the fight, while thousands 
of his soldiers were flying in panic, and reinforcements were yet far 
off. Yet for this unconquerable spirit which enabled him to hold 
those who retained heart steadily to their work, and finally gave him 
victory, the hero at first received no credit. His immediate superior 
sought to attribute what had been done to Sherman, wresting Grant's 
own magnanimous acknowledgments of Sherman's undoubted ser- 
vices, into a means to injure the man who had so used those services 
as to achieve success where success seemed almost unattainable; as 
if, on a field where five division commanders were engaged, and Sher- 
man never left the extreme right, he could possibly have accomplished 
the whole result, which it required all the management of the five 
divisions and the personal presence of a commander over all, to 
achieve. Sherman himself never claimed what Halleck sought to 
thrust upon him. As generously as Smith at Donelson, who said 
"No congratulations are due me, I simply obeyed orders," Sherman 
took pains to ascribe to his commander, the results which he knew had 
been so hardly earned. Yet, after Donelson, Halleck urged the Gov- 
ernment to promote Smith, the inferior, over Grant to a major gener- 
alcy. "Honor him for this victory." "Make Mm a major .general. 
You can't get a better one." "Smith turned the tide." And after 
Shiloh, he boldly declared to the Government that Sherman had 
"secured the fortunes of the day." 

He did more than this. He came direct to the field from Missouri, 
and assumed command of the two armies, deposing Grant even from 



32 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

his old command. He gave him, indeed, an ostensible position, but 
contrived to make it evident to himself and all under him, that he was 
in disgrace. Grant being second in rank after Halleck, was neces- 
sarily made second in command, but this was merely nominal; orders 
were not sent through him, he was not informed of movements, he 
was not invited to councils of war; when he did offer advice or opin- 
ion it was spurned, and his own subordinates in his very presence, 
held whispered consultations from which he was excluded. This 
course naturally reacted upon the country, and the land rang with 
tirades against its greatest general on account of one of his greatest 
deeds. He was accused of error in posting his troops on the west 
bank of the river, when, in the first place, the troops were posted there 
before he took command, and by that accomplished soldier C. F. 
Smith ; and in the second place, Grant's judgment in retaining them 
there has been approved, not only by Smith and Sherman, and his 
own maturer experience, but by that of all good military critics since. 
He was accused of negligence in allowing himself to be surprised, 
when, in fact, he had exercised unusual vigilance; getting all his 
divisions in readiness, so that commanders had their horses saddled 
in case of an attack, on the very morning when the battle occurred, 
and his pickets were doubled and his grand guards pushed out a mil© 
and a half, the night before; when the rebel leader himself declared 
that he encountered Grant in force at the encampments of his ad- 
vanced position; and official reports show that the division commander 
who was first attacked received the assault outside of his camps. 

Grant naturally was mortified and indignant at the injustice which 
he suffered, both from the country and his superiors. The former he 
endured in silence, sure that in the end he would be righted ; but 
the constant humiliations to which he was subjected in camp, came 
home to the soldier's heart. His little headquarters followed the 
course of the army in its onward movement to Corinth, but it might 
is well have been in Ohio. He repeatedly asked to be relieved from 
duty, but his request was not granted, and after one indignity, more 
pointed than usual, he was even on the brink of resigning. Sherman, 
however, his tried and trusted friend, who knew how little all of this 
was deserved, and was confident that the great man would yet show 
to the world all the great qualities which he recoguized, comforted 
him and dissuaded him. It was but a momentary impulse, and Grant 
determined to endure still longer "the insolence of office, and the 
spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes." 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 33 



CORINTH. 

For nearly two months after Slriloh, the army was occupied in 
moving eighteen miles. Halleck's imagination was so inflamed by 
what he heard of the battle of Shiloh, that he only advanced behind 
breastworks, although all his officers and men were restless under the 
unwonted restraint. The enemy made no show of opposition, but the 
cautious commander could not be persuaded to attack, although he 
had been reinforced till his army was over a hundred thousand 
strong, and at least double that of the rebels. But at last he 
arrived in front of Corinth, and now the soldiers were impatient for 
assault. Still Halleck was afraid of being attacked. Grant went to 
him one day, and suggested an offensive movement, but with no 
avail; and finally, on the 30th of May, Corinth fell into Halleck's 
hands, having been evacuated by the rebels several days before. 
While Halleck had been lying idle in front of the works, the rebels 
amused him with a show of strength, and decamped with their entire 
army, stores, and ordnance. A pursuit was ordered, from which Grant 
was excluded, but it was ineffectual, and terminated in a few days. 

In July, Halleck was ordered to Washington, to take command of 
all the armies. Grant was next in rank in all the West, and entitled 
to command the army which Halleck left; but the old hostility still 
continued, and the latter offered the command to Colonel Allen, a 
quartermaster, proposing tf> get the requisite rank for him if he 
would accept the offer. Allen, however, declined the promotion, and 
then only, Halleck allowed Grant to take the command whicn vras his 
by virtue of seniority, as well as services. This fact was not disclosed 
to Grant. The army, however, was greatly broken up. Buell was 
sent further east, and Grant was left with not more than thirty or 
forty thousand men to guard all the region from the Mississippi to 
the Tennessee, and from the Ohio as far south as Corinth. As soon 
as the rebels discovered that his force was thus depleted, they made 
every effort to annoy him, and his attention was devoted to defend- 
ing himself in half a dozen different places at once, with an inferior 
force. 

IUKA. 

Twenty one miles east of Corinth, is a town called Iuka, which was 
held by national troops, but on the 13th of September this was seized 
*3 



34 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

by a force of rebels under Price, and Grant at once determined to 
dislodge and capture them. He collected his troops from various 
parts of his command, ordering General Rosecranz to march east, on 
the south side of the railroad which connects Corinth and Iuka, and 
Ord on the north side. These forces were to attack Iuka simulta- 
neously, from the different directions indicated, and Rosecranz was 
especially ordered to secure the only two roads leading south, so that 
no avenue of escape should be left to the rebels. Price had about 
ten or twelve thousand men, Ord had eight thousand, and Rosecranz 
nine thousand. Grant would therefore be able, by concentrating, to 
outnumber the enemy, who, however, was superior, to either of the 
national detachments. The roads were difficult and widely separated, 
and Grant remained a few miles in the rear of both divisions, so as 
to be able to communicate directly with each and to control them 
simultaneously. On the 18th of September, Ord was within four 
miles of Iuka on the north, but Rosecranz did not succeed this day 
in getting within twenty miles of the town, thus greatly disappointing 
Grant. Ord was therefore instructed not to attack him, until he 
heard the firing of Rosecranz's guns on the south. 

It was late in the afternoon of the 19th when Rosecranz reached 
Iuka, and his movements then were betrayed to the enemy by a spy. 
He did not succeed in occupying more than one of the roads leading 
south. The rebels learning of this, and fearing the concentration 
which Grant had planned, withdrew from Ord's front, massed on the 
single road by which Rosecranz was advancing, and checked the head 
of his column. He fought vigorously, but was unable to make any 
advance, and the battle lasted till dark. While Price was thus hold- 
ing Rosecranz on one road, he sent off everything from the town by 
the other, which Rosecranz had failed to occupy, and in the night the 
entire rebel army withdrew. The next morning Ord and Rosecranz 
marched into the town, but the enemy had escaped. Ord had not 
heard any noise of the firing the day before, as the wind blew heavily 
towards the south, and Rosecranz could not inform Grant of the battle 
until it was over. 

SECOND SIEGE OP CORINTH. 

But although Grant's plan was not carried out, he yet had pre- 
vented the enemy from advancing eastward, which was very important 
at that juncture. The rebels now continued the strategy which had 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 35 

already occasioned him so much uneasiness. He still had not force 
enough to assume the offensive, and was compelled to content himself 
with discovering the plans of the rebels and merely checking their 
movements. This was the more disagreeable to him, as he was unac- 
customed to defensive operations. His nature always impelled him 
to attack, and now that such a course was impossible, he was distressed 
and annoyed. Still, he did the best practicable with the means and 
opportunities at his control. He could not concentrate his troops at 
any one point, lest he should leave some other place exposed to a 
prompt and wary enemy ; he was obliged, therefore, to hold himself 
in readiness everywhere, so as to move to the quarter first threatened 
or attacked. He was thus kept on the alert for several weeks, but 
finally became convinced that Corinth had been selected by the rebels 
for assault. 

His own headquarters were at this time at Jackson, Tennessee, a 
place central to his entire command. He had previously directed that 
the defences of Corinth should be carefully strengthened; indeed, 
almost entirely reconstructed, and placed Eosecranz in command 
there with about nineteen thousand men. He now ordered Generals 
Ord and Hurlbut, with several thousand troops, to move so as to 
strike the rebel column on its way to Corinth. The enemy it was 
probable would move eastward on Corinth, and Ord was to come from 
the north so as to attack in flank or rear. All happened exactly aB 
Grant had planned. The rebels attacked in great force on the 3d of 
October, appearing on the western side of Corinth. They drove Rose- 
cranz's forces inside the works on this day, and on the 4th attempted 
to carry the town. At first they met with some success, but when 
they came near the new works which had been constructed by Grant 
some weeks before, their advance was checked, and finally converted 
into a rout. 

Now became apparent the wisdom of Grant's strategy. The fleeing 
enemy suddenly came upon Ord's command, waiting for just this emer- 
gency, and another fight ensued, in which severe damage was a^ain 
inflicted on the rebels. They received severe injury on each day, but 
Ord's command was much too small to do more than check them, even 
defeated as they were, so they turned to another road, and escaped 
with the fragments that had been saved. 

The strategy of these two little battles displayed nearly the same 
principles which Grant afterwards developed so brilliantly on a larger 
stage. This was the first time when he had occasion to make combi- 



36 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

nations of troops on different fields. Heretofore, all that had been 
necessary was to bring up his men, and handle them skilfully when 
they arrived in the presence of the enemy. At Donelson, it was indeed 
the very genius of tactics which inspired the attack on the left, at the 
critical moment, in order to relieve the hard-pressed battalions of the 
right. At Belmont, it was great determination and real soldiership, 
to "Cut our way out as we cut our way in." As Sherman long after- 
wards wrote to Grant: "At Belmont, you manifested your traits ; at 
Donelson, also, you illustrated your whole character;" and at Shiloh 
it had been pure grit that held the enemy at bay, that would not be 
conquered, and that finally took up the fight again and carried it on 
to victory. But at Corinth and Iuka Grant's share was strategical ; 
he planned all the movements until the tropps came in the presence 
of the enemy ; he directed the concentration, and pointed out the lines 
upon which it should take place. It was generalship, not mere soldier- 
incr, that he evinced here. His intellectual, rather than his moral 
qualities were called into play ; and the attentive student, either of 
the character of the man, or simply of military operations, will dis- 
cover in this campaign the same ability, of course on a smaller scale, 
that enabled him to conceive the brilliant operations at Vicksburg, to 
concert and execute the complicated movements which resulted so 
splendidly at Chattanooga, and afterwards to control all the armies 
of the Republic with a single aim, and make the movements of hun- 
dreds of thousands of men, separated sometimes by thousands of miles, 
all tend to the accomplishment of one design. The unity of purpose, 
the concentration of scattered forces, the bringing to bear on a greater 
body of the enemy two or three smaller forces, which in the aggregate 
were larger than the entire rebel strength — this is the very essence 
of generalship ; this implies ability of the highest and rarest class. 

These movements relieved Grant from any further necessity for act- 
ing on the defensive. The double check administered to the enemy, 
although not so complete as he had designed or desired, yet drove the 
rebels back, and gave him a chance to take the initiative, a part to 
which his judgment and his nature always inclined. He always pre- 
ferred to make his enemies fight on ground that he had selected, and 
at times when he was prepared : his career always illustrated the 
ancient saying: "If you are a great general, come out of your works 
and fight me." " If you are a great general, make me come out of my 
works and fight you." His plans after this always included the oper- 
ations of the enemy; the campaigns were fought as he wished and when 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. <U 

he wished, and luckily for America, they resulted as he ivished. Some- 
times the result was long delayed, but it never failed in the end to 
realize his most sanguine expectations. But this all the world knows. 

He got, however, little credit for his strategy in this campaign. 
The high officers of the army could not understand how so quiet a man 
could be a great one. He had not graduated near the head of his 
class; how, then, could he understand military science? He made no 
parade of his knowledge of books; he never compared himself with 
Napoleon; he never discussed Csesar or Wellington. How, then, could 
he know what it was indispensable to know ? The idea of his possess- 
ing intuitive genius had not occurred to them. They had to learn 
rules and principles out of books, and could not always apply them 
afterwards ; how was it to be supposed that this unassuming, modest 
soldier could get, out of his own brain, combinations and ideas superior 
to what accomplished men had derived from long study of famous 
fields and renowned generals. But Grant, instead of being one of 
those who act according to rules and precedents, belonged to the class 
that invents rules and establishes precedents. He was not a student, 
because he was original. Other people will have hereafter to study 
his campaigns, but he acted, of his own instinct, on the self-same prin- 
ciples that other great conquerors discovered and applied in other 
theatres. He never stopped to consider what Napoleon or Frederick 
would have done, under similar circumstances, nor tried to recollect 
the strategy of Ulm or the tactics of Jena. He made a new strategy 
and a new tactics for himself, just as Frederick or Wellington would 
have done, had they been at Donelson or Shiloh, based all the while 
on the same immutable principles which are at the bottom of all 
science. He hardly knew that he did this himself; he was uncon- 
scious of his own powers. Like the countryman in the play, who had 
been speaking prose without knowing it, he achieved greatness una- 
wares. He did the best he knew how, and it was the best that could 
be done. He applied the highest principles of military science, just 
as Shakespeare wrote Hamlet and Othello, without referring to books 
or models. This is genius. 

Not that he was ignorant. The fact of his graduating at West Point 
is proof of his acquaintance with the technicalities of his art. But he 
was not given to relying on the past. He knew enough of the past 
and of the doing of other great commanders to appreciate the fact 
that they had carved out greatness by being self-reliant, by originat- 
ing new ideas under new circumstances, by casting behind them the 



38 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

trammels of the schools ; and the influence he received from them was 
sufficient to make him like them in this respect. He followed their 
examples by rejecting precedents and ignoring rules whenever he 
thought them inapplicable. He was infused with the same spirit that 
penetrated them, and by refusing to copy, he came to rival them. 

OXFORD. 

Immediately after the repulse of the rebel assault on Corinth, Grant 
proposed to the Government that he should be allowed to move on 
Vicksburg. The national forces had driven the rebels from every 
important position on the Mississippi north of Vicksburg, but there 
the enemy had concentrated his strength and determined to make a 
stand. Grant's idea now was to move down through the State of 
Mississippi, in rear of the town, and force its evacuation. Hitherto 
the attempt had been to attack it in front. Not receiving any reply 
to his suggestion, Grant prepared to make his campaign without 
orders ; but as soon as Halleck learned that his subordinate had really 
started, he sent him the sanction desired. 

Grant moved on the 2d of November, with thirty thousand men, 
from Grand Junction, a place on the railroad which connects Corinth 
and Memphis, and about half way between the eastern and western 
boundaries of Mississippi. He meant to march south, along the line 
of the Mississippi Central railroad ; but the rebels destroyed the road 
in his front as he advanced, and he was obliged to repair it while 
moving, for he had no other means of supplying his troops. At this 
time it was not supposed possible for an army to advance more than 
two or three days beyond its base. This impossibility Grant after- 
wards found a means of obviating, but he learned the means from 
experience ; and, at the time we speak of, he had not discovered all the 
advantages of a movable column, nor the practicability of subsisting 
without supplies carried with him, or else drawn direct from his own 
base. It was this campaign which taught him the lesson, or rather which 
created the necessity that he proceeded to supply. At first he moved 
slowly, because of the delay occasioned by rebuilding bridges and 
repairing roads. The enemy was immediately in his front, but made 
no serious opposition. Grant was also retarded by contradictory 
reports about his own command, and in fact by confused orders from 
Washington. 

Major General McClernand, an officer who had been promoted 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 39 

direct from civil life, utterly without military talent or acquirement, 
was striving to obtain the command now intrusted to Grant. He had 
political influence and great ambition, and finally succeeded in procur- 
ing a part of Grant's troops. The latter heard of these machinations, 
and was embarrassed in his advance by the probability of any day 
hearing that he had been superseded, or at least that a part of his 
command was to be taken from him at a critical moment. Ilalleck 
was on Grant's side in this matter, and strove to prevent the injudi- 
cious interference. For a while he succeeded, and, when Grant ar- 
rived at Holly Springs, twenty-five miles from Grand Junction, the 
general-in-chief dispatched, "You have command of all troops sent 
to your department, and permission to fight the enemy when you 
please." 

Grant accordingly ordered Sherman, who was at Memphis, to move 
out from that place with ten or twelve thousand men, and join him at 
Oxford, beyond the Tallahatchie, and twenty-five miles or more south 
of Holly Springs. A cooperative movement was at the same time 
directed by Halleck, by which a force from Arkansas was to be sent 
in rear of the rebels to distract their attention from Grant. By the 5th 
of December, Grant was at Oxford, the rebels having evacuated their 
works on the Tallahatchie river, and the entire Mississippi Central 
road up to that place having fallen into his hands, along with one 
thousand two hundred prisoners. 

The same day Halleck ordered him not to attempt to hold the coun- 
try south of the Tallahatchie, but to collect twenty-five thousand 
troops at Memphis, with a view to sending them down the Mississippi 
to attack Vicksburg in front. Grant immediately determined to send 
Sherman to command this expedition, having received the permission 
to move his troops as he thought best. He accordingly dispatched 
Sherman back to Memphis, from which place he was to move his com- 
mand on transports to the mouth of the Yazoo river, which empties 
into the Mississippi nine miles above Vicksburg. Sherman was to be 
joined at this place by Admiral Porter with a fleet of gunboats, and 
the two together were to provide a new base for Grant, who would 
march on so as to strike the Yazoo farther up its course; or, if this 
plan could not be carried out, Grant was to hold the enemy in his 
front in the interior, while Sherman would attack Vicksburg. 

Preparations for thi3 combined movement were proceeding rapidly, 
when Grant finally received orders to give McClernand the command 
of the river expedition. This was a terrible blow to him, for neither 



40 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

he, Porter, Sherman, Halleck, nor any of the prominent officer at 
the West, had any confidence in McClernand's ability. There -was, 
however, nothing left but to obey, and Grant the same day wrote to 
MoClernand to assume command; but, before his orders could reach 
the latter, the enemy interfered. A large force from the rebel column 
in Grant's front was sent to his rear, to cut his communications at sev- 
eral points, and to destroy his secondary base of supplies at Holly 
Springs. Grant had been informed in advance, of this intention of 
the rebels, and had promptly notified his subordinates in the rear, of 
their danger, instructing them to hold out at all hazards. All obeyed 
but one, and the enemy was repulsed at every point except at Holly 
Springs, the most important of all. The officer in command there 
was false to his trust, and surrendered without a fight, and the rebels 
entirely destroyed the vast accumulation of stores which Grant had 
collected there, as well as the railroads and bridges in the vicinity. 
They were unable, however, to remain in the place. Still, the tempo- 
rary capture was a great disaster; the impossibility of holding so long 
and exposed a line in an enemy's country was demonstrated, and 
Grant at once saw the necessity of falling back. The rebels in his 
front made no offensive demonstration, but he asked permission imme- 
diately to assume command of the river expedition. As it was not to 
be intrusted to Sherman, he was anxious himself to direct it. 

But, although he moved back to Holly Springs as rapidly as possi- 
ble, it was necessary to live until the new supplies could be brought 
forward, and Grant at once determined to take stores from the coun- 
try. This the rebels had not anticapated, and the announcement 
struck them with terror. The disloyal inhabitants had been jubilant 
over the interruption of Grant's communications and the destruction 
of his supplies; but, when the deficiency had to be made good from 
their own barns, their delight was turned to dismay. They petitioned 
against this course, but in vain; Grant was compelled to subsist his 
troops, and had no other resources than those he found in the coun- 
try. These were abundant, and the army lived well. 

This was the lesson he learned, far more important than any results 
attained by the enemy. It was this which he afterwards applied 
behind Vicksburg ; it was this which changed the entire character of 
the war, and initiated one of the most marked peculiarities of Grant's 
mode of campaigning. From this experience he gained the idea 
which was afterwards developed into some of the greatest achieve- 
ments in military history; which afforded suggestions not only to 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 41 

Grant himself, but, after he had applied them, to two of his greatest 
subordinates, Sherman and Sheridan, and contributed to the success 
of their most brilliant campaigns. 

Meanwhile Sherman had started from Memphis before McClernand 
arrived to supersede him. The delay in transmitting Grant's orders, 
which had been occasioned by the break in communication, gave Sher- 
man time to perfect his arrangements. He left Memphis with thirty- 
thousand men, and at Helena was reinforced by twelve thousand 
more. On the 27th of December he debarked his troops on the south 
bank of the Yazoo, near its mouth, and under convoy of Admiral 
Porter's fleet of gunboats. A steep line of hills runs along the left 
bank of the Yazoo at this place, covering Vicksburg, which itself lies 
on the face of a declivitous bluff rising abruptly from the Mississippi. 
These hills were all defended by batteries, and in front of the Yazoo 
face, the country was cut up with swamps and creeks, so as to be 
almost impassable. Sherman nevertheless succeeded in getting his 
men across this difficult ground, and assaulted the hills with great 
vigor. The natural and artificial strength of the works, however, was 
so great, that the attack failed, and the men withdrew to the trans- 
ports, after a loss of one thousand eight hundred men in killed, 
Wounded, and missing. 

The combined effort against Vicksburg was thus unsuccessful at 
both extremities. Grant was unable to continue his southward march 
in the interior, and Sherman was repelled from the works on the Yazoo. 
When the latter moved out of the Yazoo into the Mississippi, he was 
met by McClernand, who at once assumed supreme command. 

WEST OF VICKSBURG. 

Grant, however, arrived at Memphis by the 10th of January, and 
was now authorized by the Government either to take command of 
the expedition himself, or to appoint whomever he chose instead. He 
was determined now to throw all his forces on the river, as it was evi- 
dent that he could not maintain his communications if he attempted 
again to advance in the centre of the State. A much smaller force 
could at any time cut his line and destroy stores that it had taken 
him months to accumulate. On the 17th of January, he visited his 
forces at the mouth of the Yazoo, and at once decided that the troops 
must get below the city to be used effectually. He therefore set about 
Collecting all the men he could spare from Kentucky and Tennessee, 



42 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

and from northern Mississippi, abandoning many positions in the inte- 
rior, of less importance, and began in earnest the mighty task of open* 
ing the Mississippi river. At first he thought of putting Sherman in 
command of the expedition, but in consideration of the fact that Sher- 
man was junior to McClernand, he finally judged it best to obviate all 
criticism, and, by virtue of his own rank, and the authority of the 
President, to assume himself immediate command. This he did on 
the 29th of January, 1863. 

The failure of one plan never discouraged Grant. He had not been 
successful in the first movements against Yicksburg, but that was 
simply an incentive to him to make another effort. The same spirit 
which he had manifested at Belmont when he was surrounded, at Don*- 
elson when his right was repulsed, at Shiloh when his whole army was 
driven back two miles, animated him still. The very day that his 
communications were cut at Holly Springs, through the cowardice or 
treachery of a subordinate, he began his preparations for the cain=- 
paign on the Mississippi. Vicksburg was the great stronghold of 
rebellion at the West. It barred and commanded the great river; 
when it fell, the Mississippi would be opened. As long as it stood, the 
strength of the insurgents was defiant; the Northwest was cut off from 
the sea. Here, it was apparent, the struggle must be fought for the 
mastery of the West. The rebels spent their best energies in forti- 
fying and strengthening what they called the Gibraltar of America. 
They threw immense bodies of troops into the State of Mississippi, to 
defend and to cover the town; they sent their best generals to com? 
mand these troops; they boldly proclaimed Vicksburg to be impreg* 
nable. 

The town stands on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, about nine 
miles south of the mouth of the Yazoo. Both rivers are circuitous in 
a remarkable degree. The Mississippi turns and winds so that it runs 
towards every point of the compass within a distance of twenty miles. 
Just below the mouth of the Yazoo one of the most extraordinary o.f 
these bends occurs, the river running first southeast, then northeast^ 
and then with a sudden curve turning to the southwest. Yicksburg 
is situated just south of this last bend, on a long line of bluffs that 
stretches from the Yazoo southwest for fifty miles. These hills rise 
several hundred feet above the level of the stream, and reach two or 
three miles into the interior. They are extremely rugged and precip» 
itous, particularly towards the river, so that the streets in Yicksburg 
are built in terraces one above the other, to the summit of the ridge.. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 43 

The entire country on both banks of the Mississippi, outside of this 
narrow line of hills, is one great marsh, thickly overgrown with un- 
derbrush and forest trees, and intersected with innumerable shallow 
streams, a region about as unfit for offensive military operations as it 
is possible to conceive. This country was now completely flooded by 
the great rise in the Mississippi, and the water stood to the depth of 
several feet, everywhere except on the bluffs, and along the narrow 
artificial banks called levees, erected by the inhabitants to protect 
their lands from the annual inundation. This year the deluge was 
greater than had been known for many seasons. 

The works reached south from the Yazoo to a point on the Missis- 
sippi called Warrenton, a distance of twenty miles. They were de- 
fended, on the water side by twenty-eight guns, which commanded all 
approach by the river. Every effort had been made to strengthen the 
fortifications. Nature herself had done her best to render Vicksburg 
impregnable; these abrupt hills overlooking a flat country for miles, 
the country submerged in water, a great river immediately in front of 
the ridge, were in themselves extraordinary obstacles; but when to 
these were added an army of sixty thousand men, either in the town 
or in the region covering it, and all available for its defence; rifle- 
pits, formidable forts, obstructions in the river, and an armament of 
over two hundred cannon, the difficulties in the way of Grant seemed 
almost insurmountable. To oppose them he had a force at this time 
of about fifty thousand troops — the Fifteenth corps under Sherman, 
the Thirteenth under McClernand, and the Seventeenth under Mc- 
Pherson. Admiral Porter's cooperating fleet of gunboats numbered 
sixty vessels of all classes, carrying two hundred and eighty guns. 
Not half oT these, however, were retained near Vicksburg; the others 
were occupied in patrolling the river to Cairo, a distance of over six 
hundred miles. For Grant drew all his supplies of men, ordnance, 
and rations from St. Louis and Cairo, and the river was infested with 
guerrillas, who fired from the banks on every passing steamer, when- 
ever the gunboat protection was withdrawn. 

Grant's first business was to get a footing on the eastern bank of 
the river, where his troops could be established on dry land ; but the 
rebels held every foot of tenable ground, and it was impossible to 
attack them in front with any chance of success. The gunboats could 
be of no assistance, for the enemy had a plunging fire, and could rake 
the river in every direction, and transports could not approach close 
enough to land troops, as a single shot might sink a steamer with her 



44 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

whole freight of soldiers. A landing had already been tried by Sher- 
man on the Yazoo, twelve miles above the town, where the line of 
bluffs strikes that river at Haines' Bluff; but though conducted with 
skill and gallantry, it had signally failed in January, so that it seemed 
as if Grant's ordinary strategy of direct and bold attack must now be 
abandoned. 

The resources of his genius, however, were not limited to the expe- 
dients which he preferred. If he could not do what he desired, he 
was always willing to do what he was able. The nature of the country 
now suggested various schemes. First of all it was determined to dig 
a canal across the peninsula formed by the bend in the river in front 
of Vicksburg. The land on the opposite side runs out in the shape 
of a tongue not more than a mile or two across; the plan was to cut 
through this, and let the waters of the Mississippi in, so far from the 
town that transports could pass through this artificial channel into the 
river below Vicksburg, and land troops on the south side of the city, 
The engineers hoped that the whole course of the river might be 
diverted from its usual direction by this canal, or at least that suf- 
ficient water could be induced to run through, to float vessels of draught 
sufficient for Grant's purposes. 

Accordingly, for two months thousands of soldiers and negroes were 
at work digging, in full sight of the besieged city. The troops were 
encamped all along the west bank of the river immediately behind the 
levees. Their tents were frequently submerged by the water, which 
yet showed no appearance or promise of subsidence, and disease made 
sad havoc among the soldiers. The tedious work, however, was pros- 
ecuted till the 8th of March, the canal was almost complete, when an 
additional and rapid rise in the river broke the dam near the upper 
end of the canal, and an irresistible torrent poured over the whole 
peninsula, broke the levee, submerged all the camps, and spread for 
miles into the interior. The troops had to flee for their lives. Futile 
attempts were immediately made to repair the damage, but on the 27th 
of March the plan was finally abandoned, it being ascertained that the 
rebels had erected new batteries, which would completely command 
the southern exit from the canal, and had even already driven out the 
dredge-boats working there. 

While this stupendous endeavor to convert one of the natural fea- 
tures of the continent into an engine of war was being prosecuted, 
Grant was directing still another attempt, if possible more Titanic 
than the other. Seventy miles above Vicksburg, on the west side of 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 45 

the Mississippi, is an inland lake, formed by the old bed of the river, 
and a mile distant from the present channel. This is named Lake 
Providence, and is connected with various streams, or bayous as they 
are called in this region, which in their turn interlace and intersect, 
forming an interrupted communication at last with the Tensas, and 
from the Tensas with the Washita, and finally the Red river, which 
itself empties into the Mississippi four hundred miles below Vicksburg. 
The plan was to cut a canal a mile long, from the Mississippi into 
Lake Providence, so as to let in the waters of the great river ; then 
to improve the navigation of these various tortuous and shallow creeks 
in the interior of Louisiana, to clear away trees, dig out swamps, 
deepen channels, until an absolute water-course should be opened 
into the Red river, so that the army might be moved on transports 
through these bayous into the Mississippi below,, and then be able 
to march up and reach Vicksburg, on the southern side. It was, how- 
ever, found impossible to procure a sufficient number of light-draught 
steamers to carry an army through these shallow streams; and this 
plan, which rivalled the famous boast of Xerxes, that he would march 
his armies over the sea and sail them over the land, was abandoned, 
about the same time with its counterpart, the canal. 

• 

NORTH OF VICKSBURG. 

It was the impossibility of marching troops over the submerged 
swamps that made Grant's principal difficulty. If it had not been for 
this, he could at once have moved along the western bank ; but neither 
men nor artillery nor stores could be got through the inundated region ; 
so that still another of these extraordinary amphibious undertaking.? 
was begun ; this one on the eastern side. The Yazoo pass is a narrow 
creek, three hundred miles above Vicksburg, which formerly con- 
nected Moon lake with the Mississippi river. The lake is similar to 
Lake Providence, having been formed by the windings of the Missis- 
sippi, which every now and then deviates from its ancient course, and 
leaves a bed of standing water, miles away from its more recent chan- 
nel. Moon lake is connected with two or three large and navigable 
streams; the Cold Water, the Tallahatchie, and the Yallabusha, 
which finally unite and form the Yazoo. The plan was to cut the 
levee which interrupted the flow of the Mississippi into Yazoo pass, 
and then, through these devious windings, to carry troops into the 
Yazoo, to the hills above Vicksburg, and so get the army on 4ry land. 



46 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

The scheme was prosecuted with great vigor ; the streams were 
deeper and wider than on the western side, and the plan promised 
more success. But the rebels soon discovered the attempt, and hewed 
large trees into the rivers to obstruct the advance. Troops on trans- 
ports, under cover of gunboats, were sent into the pass, and, after 
infinite trouble and delay, succeeded in removing these obstructions. 
But while this was going on, the enemy set to work fortifying, and at 
the junction of the two rivers which form the Yazoo, hundreds of 
miles from the Mississippi, they erected a formidable work called 
Fort Pemberton. Here the elements again defended treason, for the 
waters were so high, and the country all around so low, that no 
troops could be landed to attack the fort. The gunboats made three 
attempts to silence its guns,' but the tortuous character of the stream 
was such that they could not approach it properly for their purposes, 
and this attempt also failed. Nothing was able to pass Fort Pember- 
ton. Grant had by this time sent several thousand men into the pass, 
and was making preparations to move an entire corps in the same 
direction, when the utter impracticobility of this route was demon- 
strated. 

The rebels, however, found this out as early as he, and sent troops 
in large numbers to destroy or cut off the Union force already in the 
pass ; and in order to distract them from this purpose, Grant inaug- 
urated still another movement. Nearer to Yicksburg than the Yazoo 
pass, and on the same side of the river, is another intricate network 
of bayous, connecting the Mississippi with the Yazoo. These creeks 
are more tortuous and difficult, by far, than those which constitute 
the pass ; they are choked up with trees ; so narrow that the branches 
from each side are interlaced, and so crooked that it seemed impossi- 
ble to navigate them. But Grant conferred with Admiral Porter, and, 
after making a reconnoissance himself, determined to send Sherman up 
this route, so as, if possible, to strike the Yazoo river below the point 
where the rebel fort had been built, and thus not only extricate the 
Union troops who had gone in from above, but threaten the rebel 
forces in the interior, who would thus be placed between two national 
detach nents. 

The difficulties encountered on this route, which was called the 
Steele's bayou route, from one of the creeks on the way, far tran- 
scended any of those which obstructed the other expeditions. But 
Sherman and Porter pushed on ; the gunboats went in advance, to 
force, by their heavier weight, a passage through the trees, so that 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 47 

the steamers carrying troops might follow. For miles there was no 
hard land where soldiers could march; and the creeks were so nar- 
row, crooked, obstructed, and shallow, that only the very smallest 
steamers, coal barges and tugs could make their way. The gunboats 
thus got far ahead, and the rebels, discovering this, placed obstruc- 
tions not only in front of the gunboats, but in their rear, so as to cut 
them off from the troops. The sharpshooters of the enemy also an- 
noyed Porter from the banks, and rebel artillery was placed at inter- 
vals. This threatened the absolute loss of the gunboat fleet, and 
Porter sent back for Sherman to hurry to his rescue. Sherman got 
the news at night, but started at once along a narrow strip of dry 
land which fortunately existed here, led his troops by lighted candles 
through the canebrake, and drove away the rebel assailants. Then, 
though with infinite difficulty, the obstructions in the rear were 
removed, and the gunboats set about returning; there was not room 
to turn, and they had to back out for miles ; but on the 27th of March 
the unsuccessful expedition was back in front of Vicksburg. 

Meanwhile, Grant had other enemies to contend with besides the 
rebels and the elements. There were constant efforts being made to 
supersede him. McClernand was still manoeuvring to obtain com- 
mand of the expedition, and was constantly annoying Grant by his 
insubordination and inefficiency, yet Grant was not allowed to remove 
him. The country was dissatisfied with the lack of success, and the 
Government was impatient. But although of course all these things 
were harassing in the extreme, Grant did not allow them to interfere 
with his determination or his energy. So long as he was continued in 
command, he would intermit no exertion ; but it was painful indeed 
to feel that he was losing the confidence of the country and the Gov- 
ernment, through the machinations of inefficient rivals and political 
subordinates, at a time when he needed all the moral support that 
could be bestowed. The rebels laughed with exultant glee at his 
baffled schemes, and their partisans at the North taunted him with 
his failures and his slowness. But all this while he never doubted 
that he should achieve success, and never failed to express this con- 
fidence to his superiors and to his own command, infusing into the 
latter, at least, some of the spirit that animated and encouraged him. 

EAST OF VICKSBURG. 

Every plan to reach Vicksburg by water having failed, Grant finally 
devised another, which depended upon the subsidence of the floods. 



48 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

It was now April, and before long the overflow must begin to abate 
in some degree. He proposed to make use of a system of bayous 
starting from near the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Yazoo, 
and running to a point below Vicksburg, on the western shore. By 
this route the supplies and artillery were to be transported on steam- 
ers, while the troops could march by land. When they should arrive 
below. Grant was ordered to send a corps to Banks, who was now in 
New Orleans with a large army, about to attack Port Hudson, the 
only other fort yet held by the rebels on the Mississippi. After Port 
Hudson should be taken, the plan was for Banks to come up and 
cooperate with Grant in the attack on Vicksburg. 

But Grant's best officers opposed this plan. Those in whose judg- 
ment and fidelity he had most confidence implored him not to risk 
the inevitable dangers of such a campaign. Sherman especially urged 
him, in conversation and in writing, not to undertake it. This scheme 
would separate the army entirely from its base; Vicksburg would be 
between Grant and the Government, and all his supplies. The hazard 
was prodigious, for failure was utter ruin ; defeat was annihilation. 
Grant knew this well, but his confidence was absolute, both in his 
army and in himself; and although he asserted neither with enthu- 
siasm, he was tenacious in his resolve. He heard all the arguments 
with patience and consideration, but they did not move him a particle. 
He felt that the temper of the country was despondent; no success 
had occurred for many weary months; it was necessary to revive its 
spirit. To make a retrograde movement, as Sherman proposed, would 
elate the rebels and depress his own troops, while it would have a dis- 
astrous effect upon the courage of the North. Besides which, Grant 
felt certain that he should be victorious in this new campaign ; and 
though he noted all the dangers, he calmly determined to incur them. 

The orders for the movement were issued, and from that moment 
Sherman's opposition ceased. He worked as hard thereafter to insure 
success as he had striven before to prevent the campaign. The move- 
ment was begun on the 2d of March. The roads were intolerably 
bad; bridges were broken, streams overflowed, the results of the long 
inundation made the mud deep, and the troops plodded and plunged 
along. When they reached the point where they were to strike the 
Mississippi, below Vicksburg, the levee was found to be broken, and 
they had to be ferried for two miles; but the labor and time consumed 
in moving an entire army with all its stores in small boats, was so 
great, that a detour was made instead to a point lower down the river, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 49 

making the entire distance to raavch, from the point of starting, sev- 
enty miles. Just at this juncture, the river fell, and the streams by 
which Grant expected to move his artillery and supplies became 
unnavigable, so that all the heavy ordnance and commissary store3 
had to be hauled along the miserable muddy roads. 

This could not possibly be accomplished in months; and to obviate 
the new difficulty, Grant now proposed a daring scheme to the naval 
commander, who had been his able and faithful coadjutor in all these 
efforts. Grant was to run three steamers and ten barges by the 
Vicksburg batteries, while seven of Porter's iron-clads should engage 
the rebels, covering the passage of the unarmed vessels. Porter 
agreed, and on the 16th of April the attempt was made. It was a 
dark night, and the gunboats led the way. Soon, however, the rebels 
set fire to houses on the shore, and thus got Harht to direct their guns 
on the passing fleet. The storm of missiles was terrific ; every vessel 
was struck, several were disabled, and one took fire, burning to the 
water's edge. The gunboats fought the batteries manfully, and for 
two hours and forty minutes this wonderful midnight battle ra^ed. 
All the population of Vicksburg came out to witness it. and the Union 
troops, in their distant camps, were also spectators of the scene. But, 
with a single exception, every transport and gunboat passed the ordeal ; 
only eight men were wounded, and the Henry Clay was the only ves- 
sel destroyed. 

This part of the enterprise was so successful, that ten days after- 
wards, six other transports and twelve barges made a similar attempt; 
one transport was sunk, but half of the barges got safely by, so that 
Grant now had a good supply of provisions below Vicksburg, and Por- 
ter's seven gunboats were also there for use in any further move- 
ments. Two corps of troops had meanwhile arrived by land, and on 
the 29th of April a gunboat-attack was made, at Grant's request, on a 
formidable work on the eastern shore, called Grand Gulf. This place 
was in reality an outwork of Vicksburg ; although fifty miles below 
the town, it was at the first point where there was any hard land on 
which troops could be landed. The hills here are as precipitous as at 
Vicksburg, and thirteen heavy guns were mounted. A gallant attempt 
by Porter to silence these guns was made, but failed. Grant had his 
troops on transports ready to land them, the moment the batteries were 
silenced; and when the impossibility of this was discovered, he imme- 
diately went aboard Porter's flag-ship and asked him once more to run 
his iron-clads by the batteries. 
4 



50 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

So prompt was his decision. As soon as one effort failed he had 
another to try, and not waiting to deliberate, he put it at once into 
execution, leaving the rebels no time to recover from the effect of the 
first attack, before they must reply to the second. This wonderful 
faculty of deciding promptly at the critical moment, of retaining his 
heart amid what seemed irrevocable or absolute defeat, and still more 
the ability to direct, and the courage and judgment to order, at a crisis, 
no man ever possessed in a more remarkable degree. At such times, 
Grant's head is always clearest; immediately after a seeming repulse, 
his courage mounts highest ; in the thickest gloom of what to any one 
else would be irremediable disaster, his genius is most fertile, his judg- 
ment most prompt and excellent, his action most decided. 

The night after the defeat before Grand Gulf, he landed his troops 
again on the western shore, and marched them to a point below that 
work, and out of the reach of its guns. Meanwhile the transports 
ran by the batteries, while Porter again engaged the enemy, and then 
himself passed below with his gunboats. During the morning, the 
Thirteenth corps was once more embarked on the steamers. Recon- 
noissances of the eastern shore had developed the fact that there was 
little hard land even yet on that bank ; but in the night, a negro 
brought information of a good road leading from a place called Bru- 
insburg, six miles below Grand Gulf, up to high ground in the interior. 
To Bruinsburg, therefore, Grant moved with his advance. 

Meanwhile, Sherman had been ordered to remain above, and make 
an attack on the north of Vicksburg, merely to distract the attention 
of the enemy from the important movements on the southern side. In 
this he was assisted by the gunboat force left there by Porter, and on 
the 29th and 30th, a formidable demonstration succeeded in alarming 
and occupying the garrison at Vicksburg. Grant had been very un- 
willing to order this demonstration, because Sherman had already suf- 
fered unjustly in the estimation of the country from his former failure 
in front of Vicksburg. He told Sherman of this unwillingness, and 
the latter replied: "I believe a diversion at Haine's Bluff is proper 
and right, and will make it, let whatever reports of repulses be made." 
The magnanimity evinced in this instance by both these great sol- 
diers, was conspicuous again and again during their career. Grant 
constantly sought to advance and promote his friend, shielding him 
from unmerited obloquy, and affording him opportunities to make an 
independent fame; while Sherman steadily supported his chief, never 
seeking to supplant him nor assuming to rival him. Each by this 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 51 

marvellously unselfish conduct, not only added a new lustre to his own 
reputation, but did good service to the cause for which each was con- 
tending. Grant thus secured the complete execution of his own great 
plans, while Sherman received the assistance of his friend, who never 
climbed a step on the ladder of promotion, without reaching a hand to 
help up the distinguished soldier who was just behind. No more admi- 
rable instance of heroic friendship can be found in the history of war. 
Happy the Republic whose institutions develop such characters, and 
whose greatest men throw such a reflex lustre on the institutions 
which produced them ! 

Before beginning his march on the western bank, Grant had given 
orders for a cavalry movement into the interior of Mississippi, under 
Colonel Grierson. This was to start from the northern boundary of 
the State, to destroy bridges, cut railroads, and, avoiding large 
forces of the enemy, to do all the damage possible to the rebel com- 
munications, isolating the garrison of Vicksburg, and alarming the 
inhabitants of the entire State; for thewhole population of the South 
was now at war. There were no able-bodied men out of the rebel 
service; those who were not in the regular army were spies and par- 
tisans, and Grant in his turn determined to make war upon the people 
as well as upon the armies of the South. His orders were constant 
not to molest or injure toomen or children; not to do damage to property 
without some military object; but he deliberately sought to destroy a,ll 
the military resources of the rebellion. Among these, none were 
more important than supplies of food. The rebel armies were kept 
up by means of the subsistence stores forwarded to them from the 
interior, and Grant began now the plan of destroying those stores, 
just as he would arms or ammunition. The rebels themselves chose 
that the war should be a partisan one, and Grant accepted the situa- 
tion; he fought the people as well as the armies of the enemy, and he 
conquered them all. 

This raid of Grierson's was eminently successful. It was the first 
of those great expeditions which, penetrating into distant regions that 
fancied themselves secure, brought home the punishment of rebellion 
to tho quietest hamlets; which carried destruction to the very source 
and root of rebel strength; and, when combined with more terrible 
attacks on the rebel armies at the front, finally produced the result at 
which the nation was aiming. For, while Grant always chose to do 
himself the hardest fighting, he sent one after another of his subordi- 
nates upon expeditions of this character, sometimes with regiments, 



52 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

sometimes with armies, into the interior of the so-called Confederacy. 
He held the monster hy the throat, and sent others to give stabs to 
the unprotected vitals, till finally Rebellion fell. Grierson made a 
march of six hundred miles in sixteen days, producing as much 
moral as purely military effect, and at the most opportune moment 
for Grant's great campaign. 

The Thirteenth corps, under McClernand, had the advance in cross- 
ing the Mississippi; after them came two divisions of the Seventeenth, 
under McPherson. These were all landed at Bruinsburg, on the east- 
ern shore, during the 30th of April. They were supplied with three 
days' rations, which they were ordered to make last five. Neither tents 
nor baggage was taken; no personal effects, even for officers, were 
ferried across until all the troops were over. Grant took not even his 
own horse, but borrowed one on the road from a soldier. Everything 
now depended on rapidity of motion, and Admiral Porter loaned his 
gunboats to ferry artillery and troops. 

A road leads direct from the landing to the bluffs, a mile or two 
distant, and the m<en were pushed on at once in the direction of Port 
Gibson, a town at the junction of the road from Bruinsburg with 
another leading to Grand Gulf. The direct road leads to Jackson, 
the capital of the State, fifty miles to the northwest. It was import- 
ant to seize Port Gibson at once, so as to hold these various roads. 
The possession of this place secured Grand Gulf, which would be cut off 
entirely whenever Port Gibson fell. During the night, McClernand's 
advance came in contact with the rebels a few miles from the town, 
the garrison of Grand Gulf having marched promptly out to oppose 
the movement of Grant. At daylight the battle began. The rebels 
were about eleven thousand strong; Grant heard the firing at the 
Landing, and started at once for the front, arriving at ten o'clock. 
The battle was even for several hours, the rebels having great advan- 
tages of position, but about noon McPherson's corps arrived, giving 
Grant the superiority in numbers; he at once threw fresh troops both 
to the right and left of McClernand, and before night the position was 
completely turned, and the enemy driven in confusion to Port Gibson. 
The ground was very rugged, and completely unknown to the Union 
army, so that Grant was obliged to delay the pursuit until daylight, 
when, on pushing into the town, it was found to be evacuated. In 
this battle Grant had about nineteen thousand men engaged; he lost 
over eight hundred men killed and wounded, and took six hundred and 
fifty prisoners, besides killing and wounding more than as many of 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 53 

the enemy. His success was due entirely to the celerity and unex- 
pected character of his movements. The enemy was admirably posted 
on a steep ridge, protected by a broken country covered with tangled 
vine and underbrush, and the rebels fought well. Reinforcements of 
five thousand men had been ordered from Vicksburg and others from 
Jackson, but they only arrived in time to share the flight. 

In their retreat, they burnt the bridges over several streams, and 
Grant next day was obliged to rebuild these, before he could make 
any progress. But extraordinary efforts were made, the houses in the 
neighborhood were torn down for timber, and officers and men worked 
up to their waists in the water. In one instance, the troops arrived 
at a bridge while it was still burning, and extinguished the fire. The 
two corps were pushed on, that day and the next, about fifteen 
miles, to the Big Black river, skirmishing with the enemy all the way. 
But Grand Gulf was now uncovered, and Grant himself rode off in 
that direction with a small escort. He found the town already in 
possession of the naval forces, which had landed early in the day. 
The rebels had not been able to save their heavy cannon, and thirteen 
pieces fell into the hands of the victors. 

Grant had not been undressed since crossing the river, three days 
before, and now went aboard the gunboats, where he borrowed a shirt, 
and wrote dispatches nearly all night. He ordered Sherman to move 
down on the opposite side of the river and join the main army; he 
informed the Government of his own movements, and gave orders to 
his subordinates to forward supplies as rapidly as possible. All his 
supplies, of every description, had to come seventy miles by land on 
the western bank, then to be ferried across to Bruinsburg, and so 
moved up to the army. Upon everybody he urged the overwhelming- 
importance of celerity ; for as soon as the enemy should become aware 
that the whole Union army was on the eastern bank, of course every 
possible effort would be made to destroy it. 

At Grand Gulf, Grant got word from Banks that changed the whole 
character of his campaign. Heretofore he had intended to march to 
Port Hudson, several hundred miles, and to join Banks in the attack 
on that place; and when this was over, both armies were to move up 
against Vicksburg. But Banks now sent him word that he could not 
be at Port Hudson before the 10th of May, and. even after Port Hud- 
son had fallen, he could not march to Vicksburg with more than twelve 
thousand men. This information decided Grant not to go to Banks 
at all. He would lose more than twelve thousand men on the march 



54 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

to Port Hudson, and in the siege and probable battles there; so that 
he would be no stronger on his return than now. Besides this, he 
had already won a victory; he had got his army on dry ground, where 
he had been striving all winter to place it; he had captured Grand 
Gulf, and was on the high road to Vicksburg or Jackson. He felt 
the importance of seizing these advantages, and of making the most 
of the moral effects of his triumph, both with his own troops and with 
the enemy. He made up his mind that night to commence the Vicks- 
burg campaign. It was fortunate indeed for the country that Banks 
sent him the message of delay. 

Vicksburg now was only twenty miles off, with one large river, the 
Big Black, in the way. It was defended by fifty-two thousand men, 
either in the garrison or in the interior of the State; this force was 
under Pemberton. Another but smaller rebel army at Jackson, fifty 
miles directly west from Vicksburg, was eventually commanded by 
Jo. Johnston ; at this time it amounted to ten thousand or twelve thou- 
sand men, though before the campaign terminated it was quadrupled. 
To oppose these two formidable bodies of troops, Grant would have, 
when Sherman should arrive, not more than thirty-five thousand men 
in column, and twenty light batteries. The rebels had at least three 
hundred guns. They were also on the defensive, and in a country 
with every inch of which they were familiar, and where every inhab- 
itant was their friend, their partisan, their spy. The two rebel forces, 
if combined, would certainly largely outnumber, and perhaps crush 
the Union army. Instead, therefore, of moving at once against 
Vicksburg, Grant determined to push directly between the two hostile 
forces, separate them completely, and attack the smaller one before 
the other could come to the rescue ; to drive it east as far as Jackson, 
where all the railroads centre by which Vicksburg was supplied; and 
after destroying Johnston, and the rebel stores and communications 
at Jackson, to return and capture Vicksburg at his leisure. 

No more daring enterprise was ever undertaken in war. To per- 
form it, he must abandon his base of supplies entirely ; for, if he 
moved east after Johnston, Pemberton would be sure to fall upon his 
line of communications in rear; and to guard this line would weaken 
Grant, so that he could not be strong enough for the operations he 
contemplated. He therefore sent word to have the greatest possible 
amount of supplies forwarded him before starting, and determined to 
cut loose entirely from his base, depending on the country for all fur- 
ther rations and forage. A parallel feat had then never "been per- 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 55 

formed with a modern army. He gave no notice of his intention to 
the Government in advance, and it was lucky that he did not, for as 
soon as Halleck discovered the plan, he sent word to Grant to return ; 
hut it was too late; the order did not reach Grant till the campaign 
was decided. 

Sherman was hurried up, the greatest possible energy inculcated 
upon everybody, dispositions made of the troops which were to remain 
on the west side of the Mississippi and at Grand Gulf, and, on the 
7th of May the venturous column started for Jackson. Meanwhile, 
Grant's horses had arrived and his mess furniture. Hitherto he had 
depended on the hospitality of his subordinates, not only for a horse, 
but for every meal of the campaign. Sherman's corps arrived just 
as the advance of the army was starting; and he was directed by 
Grant to take three days,' rations for men, and make them last seven. 
On the 11th, Grant informed Halleck, "As I shall communicate with 
Grand Gulf no more, you may not hear from me again for several days." 
This was the. very day on which Halleck sent word to Grant to return 
and cooperate with Banks. The two dispatches crossed each other on 
the way; but there was no telegraph communication, and each was a 
week in reaching its destination. 

The army moved northeast, on different but neighboring roads, 
meeting no enemy in force until the 12th, when McPherson, who had 
the advance on the right, fell in with a body of rebels five thousand 
strong, at a place called Raymond. The main rebel force, under 
Pemberton, was on the left, at Edwards's Station, on the railroad 
between Vicksburg and Jackson. Grant disposed his forces so as to 
threaten Pemberton, and induced that commander to remain in mass 
awaiting an attack; Pemberton at the same time sent word for the 
troops at Jackson to come out and assault Grant's rear. But Grant, 
instead of attacking Pemberton, where the rebels were prepared in 
force, sent McPherson, with a whole corps, to overwhelm the smaller 
force coming up from Jackson. McPherson met the rebels at Ray- 
mond, and, outnumbering them two to one, completely routed them, 
and occupied the town. This was the second victory of the campaign, 
and the second time that Grant, with a force not half so large as that 
of the rebels combined, was able, by the wisdom of his combinations 
and the celerity of his movements, to divide and beat his enemy in 
detail. Meanwhile Pemberton had been expecting the attack at 
Edwards's Station. From Raymond, the rebels fled at once to Jack- 
son, and with one of those opportune decisions which come only to 



56 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

masters in war at the critical moment, Grant instantly changed his 
plans. Hitherto he had meant to send only one corps to Jackson; 
but this day's fight confirmed him in the idea that a large force was 
on bis right, and it was necessary to dispose of this effectually, so 
that when he turned towards Vicksburg, he should leave no formidable 
enemy in his rear. Large rebel reinforcements were hastening to Jack- 
son, and he determined to destroy the troops already there before the 
reinforcements should arrive in great numbers. That night he issued 
orders for the three corps to start for Jackson; and on the 13th this 
was done at dawn, McPherson and Sherman having the advance, on 
separate roads; and McClernand following each. The same night, 
General Jo. Johnston arrived at Jackson, and took command of all 
the rebels in the State. He at once sent orders for Peinbei;ton to 
come up in Grant's rear and attack the national troops, meaning with 
the garrison of Jackson to cooperate in front, and thus crush Grant, 
as between the upper and the nether millstone. 

This was a very good plan, but Johnston had Grant to deal with, 
who knew the danger of such a movement as Johnston ordered. Grant 
too was never slow. He now moved his troops with great rapidity, 
and on the 14th, Sherman and McPherson were in front of Jackson, 
while Pemberton had not yet left Edwards's Station, twenty miles 
away. 

The attack was begun by McPherson at 11 o'clock, and fighting 
lasted three hours, during; which McPherson drove the rebels inside 
their works. Sherman was moving up on the right and south of 
Jackson, Grant being with this portion of his army. Some obstacles 
in front seemed important, and Grant rode to the extreme right in 
person, to reconnoitre, when he found that the enemy had evacuated 
the town ; he rode on, and his party was with the first to enter Jackson. 
The rebels had made all their resistance in McPherson's front, and, 
finding that Pemberton had not come up to the assault, finally with- 
drew, while Sherman was reconnoitring and getting into position. By 
three o'clock, the two corps were in Jackson, Johnston retreating out 
of the north side of the town. Seventeen cannon were captured, and 
the enemy lost eight hundred and forty-five men in killed, wounded, 
and prisoners. Grant's entire loss was less than three hundred. 

Grant had now attained the object of his eastward march. It was 
important at once to destroy the railroads and stores of the rebels, 
and, in order to effect this, he was obliged to abandon or postpone any 
pursuit of Johnston. Twenty m ;l es of railroad were accordingly torn 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 57 

up, and the bridges burnt ; all the rebel supplies, factories, and arsenals 
were included in the conflagration. That night Grant slept in the quar- 
ters occupied the day before by Johnston. The reinforcements that 
were coming up to the enemy were obliged to make wide and long 
detours to join their commander. But, although success had been so 
marked, it was still not complete. There was yetimmiuent danger of 
a concentration of the two rebel armies; and before night, Grant got 
possession of a dispatch from Johnston to Pemberton, directing the 
concentration so much to be feared. 

He determined to prevent this, and accordingly, with his usual 
promptitude, he that afternoon ordered McPherson to retrace his 
steps, marching in the morning in the direction of Edwards's Station. 
McClernand was also informed of the defeat of Johnston, and of the 
danger of rebel concentration. His troops were at once faced about 
in the same direction as McPherson's. The various corps were admi- 
rably located, so as to converge on the same point, which was Bolton, 
a station a few miles east of Edwards's, where Pemberton was known to 
be. The men were fatigued, having been marching or fighting inces- 
santly since the 7th, but there was no time now for rest. Celerity of 
movement won battles and saved lives. Accordingly, early on the 
morning of the loth, the two corps had turned their faces towards 
Vicksburg, and were in motion for the enemy. Sherman was to spend 
that day destroying the munitions and military resources in and 
around Jackson. Before night, McPherson and McClernand were 
within supporting distance of each other at Bolton, and ordered to 
march in the morning for Edwards's Station ; while Pemberton still 
delayed, in disobedience of Johnston's orders. He did not dream 
that Grant had no communications with the Mississippi, and his idea 
was to march south and cut those communications. On the morning 
of the 15th, he moved for this purpose southeast of Edwards's Station, 
away from Johnston, who had by this time been driven north from 
Jackson, so that the rebels were actually moving in opposite direc- 
tions, while Grant was converging between them; Pemberton striving 
to cut Grant's communications with the Mississippi, while Grant, who 
had cut them himself nine days before, was returning to Vicksburg, 
and seeking Pemberton to destroy him. 

Pemberton moved slowly, and again received positive orders from 
Johnston to join him. On the 16th, he finally concluded to obey, and 
reversed his column. But in the night Grant had got word of Pem- 
berton's exact force and position, and of the design to attack the 



58 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

national rear. He instantly dispatched to Sherman to start at once 
from Jackson to the support of the main army. "The fight may be 
brought on at any moment; we should have every man on the field ." 
A national division was now coming up alone fro*# Grand Gulf, and 
this was also ordered to join the main army. "Pass your troops to 
the front of your trains, and keep the ammunition in front of all 
others." He meant work. 

Three roads lead to Edwards's Station from the east, and on the 
northern one Grant had four divisions, under McPherson, while on 
each of the others were two divisions ; all these last under McClernand. 
Sherman had not got up. The advance of McClernand encountered 
Pemberton's skirmishers just as the reverse movement of the rebel 
column began, and the enemy at once fell into an admirable position, 
covering all three roads. The rebel left was on a hill called Cham- 
pion's Hill, and by eleven o'clock the force under McPherson assaulted 
here. Grant was with this portion of his command in person. The 
rebels had twenty-five thousand men, a defensive position, and, as 
usual, complete knowledge of the country, of which, of course, the 
national troops were entirely ignorant. The battle raged with various 
fortune for several hours ; the Union soldiers gained a point on the 
hill several times, but were driven back as often, and Grant sent 
repeated orders to McClernand to come up to the support; but that 
commander allowed an inferior force to amuse and delay him, and, in 
spite of Grant's positive directions to attack, he did not obey. Finally, 
Grant sent troops to the extreme rebel left and rear, and these pro- 
duced such an effect that, combined with another direct attack in 
front, the enemy gave way, and the hill was carried, McClernand not 
having been engaged at all. One of his divisions had been on the 
right with Grant all day, and in the thickest of the fight, but those 
under McClernand's direct command were not in the battle. 

The rout of the rebels was complete, and as McClernand now came 
up in force, Grant sent these fresh troops in pursuit. Grant had not 
had more than fifteen thousand men engaged. He lost about two 
thousand four hundred men in the battle of Champion's Hill, which 
was by far the hardest fought in the whole campaign. The enemy's 
loss was between three thousand and four thousand killed and wounded, 
and as many more prisoners, besides thirty cannon. In addition to 
this, one whole division was cut off from the bulk of the rebel army in 
the precipitous flight. It struggled along, making a wide detour, and 
reported to Johnston several days afterwards, but Pemberton never com- 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 59 

manded it again. The moral effects of this victory were prodigious. 
The rebel troops broke and fled in every direction ; artillerymen de- 
serted their guns in the retreat, and many of the soldiers threw away 
their small arms, and gave themselves up prisoners before they were 
asked. The pursuit was continued till after dark, reaching fifteen 
miles. Grant himself was with the advance, and his party got so far 
ahead of the main column, that they were obliged to return to a more 
secure position for the night. That night Grant received Halleck's 
orders to return to the Mississippi and cooperate with Banks; but the 
best way to return now was to proceed in his career of victory. 

It was nothing but the marvellous energy and promptness of Grant 
that won this battle. Pemberton was actually moving to join John- 
ston when he was struck by Grant; had the national commander de- 
layed a day, the concentration would have been effected; but it was 
now forever .impossible. 

The next day the pursuit was pushed on ; Sherman having arrived 
at Bolton by the close of the 15th, he was ordered to move at once to 
the right of the rest of the command. Grant reached the Big Black 
river, the only one now between his army and Vicksburg, early in the 
morning of the 17th, his advance having started before daylight. At 
the crossing of the railroad over this river, the rebels had established 
a formidable work; here the river makes a bend like a horse-shoe, 
open towards the east, and the line of fortifications was across this 
opening, reaching from the river above to the river again below. The 
ground in front was swampy and exposed to the rebel fire, while still 
beyond, on the western bank of the river, rose steep bluffs, command- 
ing the country for miles. This point was defended by twenty cannon 
and four thousand troops, who ought to have held it against direct 
assault forever. But the Union troops were inspired by the long 
series of successes, and the rebels were exhausted with disaster and 
retreat. At the first attack, by only about eleven hundred men, the 
rebels fled in dismay, abandoning all their guns, and only seeking to 
reach the river. The panic spread to the troops on the opposite shore, 
who set fire to the bridge, and nearly eighteen hundred prisoners, with 
eighteen pieces of artillery, were captured. Grant lost only two hun- 
dred and fifty men, of whom but twenty-nine were killed. This of 
course was only the result of the rout of the day before, for the rebels 
had often and often proved themselves good enough soldiers. 

But their depression now was terrible. Many left their ranks, and 
vowed they would surrender rather than fight again under Pemberton. 
The people of the country joined them, and all fled pell mell into 



60 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

Vicksburg, from the conqueror who had won five battles in less than 
twenty days, captured six thousand five hundred of the enemy, and 
killed and wounded six thousand more. He had done this, after start- 
ing with an average of two days' rations, and he had subsisted his own 
army, besides beating two of the enemy's, and lost only seven hundred 
killed and three thousand four hundred wounded. 

After rebuilding the bridges out of the wood of houses torn down 
for the purpose, he pressed rapidly on, and on the 18th of May Vicks- 
burg was besieged. No more brilliant series of operations is chron- 
icled in the history of war. For originality of conception, for daring 
in execution, for admirable combinations, for strategical foresight, for 
promptness in the decisions and celerity in the movements, for com- 
pleteness of success in each operation, and for the magnificent result 
of all, they have no parallel except in the achievements of Napoleon. 

• 

SIEGE OF VICKSBURG. 

The country around Vicksburg is broken and difficult in an extraor- 
dinary degree; full of rough hills and rougher ravines, with numer- 
ous creeks running between the various heights, and a thick growth of 
underbrush or forest covering the sides of the cliffs and chasms ; a 
region expressly adapted for defence. These natural advantages had 
been developed to their utmost by the rebels, whose line of works, 
located on the most salient ridges, reached entirely around the city. 
Numerous detached forts were built at intervals, and betwee'n these 
stretched an uninterrupted line of rifle-pits, not less than eight miles 
long. Outside of the parapet, the enemy had formed an unusually 
difficult abatis of fallen trees. Within these lines, Pemberton had 
now nearly thirty-five thousand men, for he was of course reinforced 
by the garrison proper, of the town. A hundred guns at least were 
also ready to repel assault. Johnston, however, feared that even with 
all these defences, natural and artificial, Pemberton would finally be 
compelled to surrender ; he therefore ordered his subordinate to evac- 
uate the place. But again Grant's promptness intervened to frustrate 
the plans of his antagonist. Pemberton held a council of war on the 
18th of May, and while it was still deliberating, Grant took his po- 
sition on the outside and invested Vicksburg. The Union line at first 
was incomplete. Sherman had the right, McPherson the centre, and 
McClernand at this time the extreme left; but the troops of the last- 
named officer did not extend to the Mississippi; while Sherman's 
right rested on the very hills from which he had been repelled in Jan- 
uary before. 



LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 61 

Grant did not delay operations, but the day after arriving before 
the town, he ordered an assault. With his usual tactics, he wished to 
take advantage of the demoralization of the rebels, before they had 
time to recover. Accordingly, on the 19th of May, all three of his 
corps commanders were instructed to charge against the rebel line; 
but the sight of the rebel fastness, these lofty hills shutting in Vicks- 
burg on every hand, these hundred cannon directed against the assail- 
ants, the reinforcements of eight thousand men in garrison, and the 
knowledge of the extraordinary difficulties Grant must overcome be- 
fore he could carry the works, so strong by nature and by art, reani- 
mated the defenders. The corps of Sherman- and of McPherson 
pushed up close to the rebel works, but neither was able to make an 
impression; and McClernand, whose troops were further from the city 
than either of the others, did not get up in time to really participate 
in the assault. The effort was therefore unsuccessful ; no entrance 
was gained; but positions close to the enemy were obtained and held, 
which proved of vast importance during the siege. The prodigious 
difficulties before them had not been known to the besiegers until now, 
and it was evident that even all the battles and victories they had won 
had not achieved the consummation at which for so many months they 
had been aiming. 

Grant now spent two days in resting his troops after the wonderful 
campaign through which they had passed; in bringing up supplies, 
from the new base which was established on the Yazoo; and in pre- 
paring for a second and more determined assault; for he was loath 
to begin the tedious processes of a siege. His men, exhilarated by the 
success of the brilliant campaign, were also unlikely to set to work in 
in the trenches with zeal until they knew that no other means would 
even yet suffice to conquer Vicksburg. After their successes at Cham- 
pion's Hill and the Big Black, they thought themselves irresistible. 
Besides this, Johnston's army, still near Jackson, was daily receiving 
reinforcements, and would soon, perhaps, equal Grant's in numbers, 
and be able to raise the siege; while, if Grant could once secure pos- 
session of the town, with the river open for communication and sup- 
plies, the national forces could laugh to scorn any rebel attempt to 
regain it. 

On the 22d of May, therefore, a second assault was ordered. It 
was preceded by a vigorous bombardment both from the fleet and from 
a line of a hundred cannon mounted along the hills in the interior. 
Precisely at ten, the various columns moved against the rebel works. 



62 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

The attack was made with great vigor all along the line; the men 
moved by the roads when this was practicable, and elsewhere down 
into the ravines and up the precipitous sides, on which the hostile for- 
tifications awaited them. But the difficulties were insurmountable; 
the assailants were exposed for a distance of several hundred yards to 
the artillery and musketry fire of the besieged; they got entangled in 
the brushwood; they were shot down before they could scale the hills. 
Everywhere they were repelled; and although prodigies of valor had 
been performed, it was all in vain. Each corps had recoiled. The 
national flag in front of each had been planted on the rebel works, and 
still remained there, but the troops were unable to penetrate further, 
while the rebels dared not take the flags away. The battle was over, 
and no result was gained. 

At this moment McClernand sent a dispatch to Grant, announcing 
the capture of two forts. This message was three times repeated, and 
Grant was urged to order another assault, to support the advantage 
said to have been gained by McClernand. Supposing that McCler- 
nand must know when a fort was gained, Grant complied with the 
request, and a second assault was ordered by Sherman's and McPher- 
son's worn out men. This met with a similar result with the former 
one; the loss of life was nearly doubled, and no more success was 
attained; while it proved that McClernand had originally secured no 
advantage like that which he had proclaimed. He had carried no fort, 
and when the assault he requested was renewed solely to support him, 
he did not himself attain any advantage beyond what the others had 
already procured. 

At night three thousand national soldiers had been killed or wound- 
ed; about thirty thousand had been engaged. Pemberton declared 
that he had eighteen thousand five hundred men in the trenches; he 
lost about one thousand soldiers in this fight. The disparity of course 
was occasioned by the rebels being under cover. Shortly after this 
assault, McClernand was relieved by General Ord, at the command of 
Grant. 

The national troops, however, although repelled, were not discour- 
aged, and their leader at once set about his preparations for a siege. 
These operations were unintermitted for over forty days. Reinforce- 
ments were sent to Grant in large numbers, his lines were rendered 
continuous, and were daily advanced further against the doomed city. 
Mines were dug and sprung, and the city was completely shut off from 
all supply or communication, except when an occasional rebel scout 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. C3 

found Lis way through the Union lines. Meanwhile, Johnston also 
was reinforced, till his army amounted to forty thousand men, and 
moved up on Grant's rear to relieve the city. But Grant now com- 
manded seventy thousand soldiers, half of whom he kept in the 
trenches, and the other half he formed into a corps of observation 
against Johnston. These built a line of works facing east, protecting 
the besiegers, who were thus enclosed between two lines — one in front 
and one in rear. 

Towards the last of June the sufferings of the besieged became very 
great. They were forced to put the men on quarter rations, and 
finally, after it became apparent to Pemberton that all hope of rescue 
had disappeared ; when it was certain that Johnston, with his forty 
thousand men, would not dare attack Grant in rear, although he would 
be supported by the entire garrison in front; when neither the siege 
could be raised nor the garrison escape; when the blockade by land 
and river was so effectual, that attempts to build boats and cross the 
Mississippi were detected; when scouts were intercepted, bringing 
word to Pemberton that Johnston could do no more for him, and from 
Pemberton, that his supplies of food and ammunition were both ex- 
hausted; when for forty-seven days the besiegers and besieged had 
lain in the hot trenches, working, digging, mining, countermining, 
assaulting, repelling, advancing, retreating, sickening, dying; those 
inside almost starving, those outside often suffering from lack of 
water; both sides exposed to miasma and heat, and rain, and fatigue, 
and incessant danger from bursting shells and sharpshooters' rifles, 
and sudden attacks by night and day — finally, the mighty siege was 
about to terminate. 

All this while Grant's patience had never failed him. The country 
had long since become anxious and irritable; again, notwithstanding 
his brilliant series of victories, there had been talk of relieving him ; 
but he remained calm and undisturbed. He had a mighty fortress, 
containing a hostile army, in his front, and another army at his rear, 
generaled by one of the greatest soldiers of the rebellion ; his ap- 
proaches were slow, his assaults had been repelled; his mines had 
produced no effect; the rebels seemed determined, his own men sick- 
ened and wearied under the protracted exposure of the trenches and 
the fatigues of night-work in this insalubrious climate ; seven weeks 
had passed sitice he had returned from his career of triumphant bat- 
tles, and still he was outside of the works which seven weeks before 
he thought he had gained. But his confidence of success remained 



64 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

undiminished ; his energy never flagged. He met a rebel woman once, 
while making the circuit of his lines, who asked him, with a taunt, 
how long he expected to remain before Vicksburg; "I do not know 
how long I shall have to wait," he replied, " but 1 shall stay here till 
I take the town, if it takes me thirty years." This was the spirit that 
animated him, and which he was able to infuse into his soldiers, who, 
despite all their toils, and hardships, and dangers, were as determined 
as he, and had no thought of abandoning the enterprise, which they 
had already done so much to accomplish. The spirit of thei 1 * com- 
mander held officers and men steadily up to their tedious and unexcit- 
ing task; this spirit finally conquered Vicksburg. 

For, on the 3d of July, Pemberton made overtures to Grant, and 
the same day a meeting of the two generals was held between their 
lines, and in sight of both armies. It took place under an oak tree, 
which has since been cut down to furnish mementoes of the occasion. 
The troops for miles around hung over their parapets on either side, 
watching the interview on which the destinies of the two armies de- 
pended. But Pemberton was absurd and haughty, and refused the 
simple surrender which Grant demanded. In the night, however, ho 
consulted with his subordinates, and came to a better mind. By morn- 
ing, he had agreed to deliver up the garrison, with all its munitions, 
as prisoners of war. Grant did not wish the trouble of feeding another 
army, and could not, in many weeks, procure transports sufficient to 
send his prisoners North ; he therefore stipulated that they should be 
paroled and sent into the interior, not to fight again until exchanged. 
Nearly the same terms which Napoleon granted to the Austrians at 
the famous surrender of Ulm. - 

On the 4th of July, therefore — auspicious anniversary — the capture 
was consummated. Grant generously allowed the officers to retain 
their swords, and both officers and men their private property ; but 
the muskets were all stacked by the rebels themselves outside their 
works, between the lines. It took them nearly all day to march out 
of their defences, and lay down their colors and their arms, the 
national army looking on. Thirty-tivo thousand rebel soldiers thus 
became prisoners to Grant; over two thousand one hundred of these 
were officers, and among them no fewer than fifteen generals. One 
hundred and seventy -twp cannon also were surrendered. No such cap- 
ture of men and material had been made before in modern times. The 
greatest of Napoleon's triumphs pales before the achievement. Gen- 
eral Halleck declared that the famous operations about Ulm were 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 65 

eclipsed by those which had secured this result; and the glowing 
pages of European historians, in recounting the magnificent success 
of the greatest of European soldiers, do not reach the points of pane- 
gyric which simple facts declare to have been won by Grant. At 
Ulm, Napoleon received the surrender of sixty pieces of cannon and 
thirty thousand men. At Vicksburg, our American hero became the 
master of one hundred and seventy-two hostile cannon, and thirty-two 
thousand prisoners. 

It required an entire week to complete the paroles; but on the 11th 
of July the rebel garrison marched finally out of Vicksburg, never 
to return, except as submissive citizens of the United States. On the 
8th, Port Hudson, the only other point held by the enemy on the Mis- 
sissipi, surrendered to General Banks ; the rebel commander announ- 
cing that, as Vicksburg had fallen, he had no hope of relief, or of 
successfully enduring a siege. So that the great river was once more 
open in its entire length to the national flags, and the greatest bond 
that held the rebellion together was broken forever. 

On the very day that Grant received propositions for Pemberton's 
surrender, he sent orders to Sherman to get his command in readiness 
to march against Johnston's army; and on the 4th, as soon as the 
capture of the town was really consummated, he sent Sherman in 
pursuit of the enemy butside. Johnston, however, fell back in haste, 
when he heard of the fall of Vicksburg, and a hot chase was made, 
Sherman following as far as Jackson; but thence Johnson escaped 
into the interior, Sherman not pursuing farther. Great destruction 
was again made of railroads and resources, at and around Jackson, 
and the undisturbed possession of the State of Mississippi was thus 
secured; Sherman then returned to Vicksburg, and the troops were 
allowed a month or two of rest, after their long labors in the trenches 
and the field. 

Grant had now completely accomplished the Vicksburg campaign, 
one of the most brilliant recorded in history, whether its results are 
regarded, or the means by which those results were attained. He had 
fought five battles, made two assaults, and prosecuted a siege for 
forty-seven days and nights. He had captured an entire army, as 
well as the most difficult and important stronghold which the rebels 
then possessed in the whole theatre of war; he had opened the Missis- 
sippi river, he had taken prisoner, killed, or wounded, over fifty thousand 
rebel soldiers, and captured two hundred and forty -six cannon, during 
the campaign and eiege. His own loss in the same time was one thou- 
5 



QQ LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

sand two hundred and forty-three killed, seven thousand and ninety- 
five wounded, and five hundred and thirty-five missing; total, eight 
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three. Of the wounded, more 
than half returned to duty, many of them almost immediately. 

The character of this campaign forever stamps the man who con- 
ceived and executed it, not only as a soldier of uncommon genius, but 
as one of those great intellects which arise only once or twice in a 
century. The magnificent daring of the original idea ; its unlike- 
ness to anything that had been done or planned during a generation ; 
the unflinching determination with which it was begun, despite the 
discouragement and opposition of subordinates and superiors ; the 
moral courage which was required for this, at a moment when the fate 
of the country almost hung on Grant's success, and his own downfall 
was the certain consequence of disaster — the promptitude and the 
unerring sagacity of the numerous and incalculably important decis- 
ions; the marvellous fertility of resources, and the equally marvellous 
energy with which those resources were all brought into play; the 
beautiful accuracy of the strategic combinations ; the vigor of each 
separate movement ; the wisdom with which the plans of the enemy 
were divined, and opposed by still more skillful ones; the unity with 
which the various forces were made to act; the art with which they 
were separated when necessary, yet always kept so that they could be 
brought together at a critical moment; and the administrative ability 
which moved, and supplied, and marched, and fought the army with 
rapidity, daring, and unparalleled success — these are traits that no sol- 
dier of our time has possessed, in an equal degree, and characteristics 
that in no time have been displayed by soldier or statesman without 
placing their owner in the front rank for intellect and moral power. 

Honors, of course, were heaped upon Grant after this unprecedented 
triumph. He was made a major general in the regular army; the 
President and the general-in-chief each wrote him letters of congratu- 
lation; the legislatures of various States passed resolutions of thanks ; 
swords were presented him; and his name passed to the head of 
all the defenders of the Union. His equanimity was as great, how- 
ever, in success as it had been in disaster. He felt that there was still 
other work to do, and at once asked permission to make a movement 
against Mobile. But this was not allowed; and, instead, a corps of his 
army was taken from him and given to Banks. He felt, however, 
that his subordinates had worked hard to achieve the victories which 
his abilities had planned, and one of his first efforts was to secure pro- 



LIFE OF GENEJLAL GRANT. t>i 

motion for them. A long list, headed by Sherman and McPhcrson, 
was made out, and nearly every one of his recommendations was 
approved. In August, he went to New Orleans, to consult with Banks 
about a combined movement against Mobile, which he still hoped he 
could persuade the Government to allow; and while there, he was 
thrown from his horse at a review, and received a hurt that lamed 
him for months. For twenty days he was confined to one position, 
and while thus suffering, word came to him of great apprehensions 
felt by the Government for the safety of the Union army at Chatta- 
nooga. 

CHATTANOOGA. 

This place, on the confines of Tennessee and Northern Georgia, and 
shut in by the Cumberland mountains and the Tennessee river, is 
at the junction of two great railroads, one passing north and south, 
the other east and west. It was parallel in military importance to 
Corinth, farther west; and, since the beginning of the war, the efforts 
of national commanders had been directed to secure its possession. 
If this were obtained, Richmond, the rebel capital, was cut off from 
all direct communication with the centre and west of the rebellious 
region. In September, by a series of masterly movements, Rose- 
cranz succeeded in driving the rebel army that defended Chattanooga 
a few miles south of it, and himself stepped in to occupy the town. 
But it was certain that the rebels would make a prodigious effort to 
regain the prize, and Grant was directed to send all his available 
force to the support of Rosecranz. 

Grant did not get these orders until his return from New Orleans, 
and, though still confined to his bed, at once dispatched a whole corps, 
under Sherman, towards Chattanooga. All expedition was made for 
the movement, but the distance was nearly a thousand miles, by the 
shortest route; half of this was by the river, and transports had to 
be procured; then there were four hundred miles to be marched 
through a hostile country. Long before Sherman could reach Rose- 
cranz, the latter had been attacked by a superior force and driven 
into Chattanooga. The Government became greatly alarmed, and at 
once sent for Grant to take command of Rosecranz's army. He 
started, still a cripple, sailed up the Mississippi to Cairo, and then 
went by rail to Louisville; on the way he met the Secretary of "War, 
and received from him an order placing him in command of all the 
armies west of the Allcghanies, except those of Banks, in Louisiana 



68 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

and Texas. His immediate task was to secure Chattanooga and the 
army there, which was now besieged, and to relieve East Tennessee, 
where Burnside also was in great straits, in command of another and 
smaller army. 

Government had begun to perceive the necessity of concentrating 
its forces, and of having some unity in its military operations. Hith- 
erto, the armies had acted each on its own plan, independent of every 
other, and often in contradictory directions. No one had been found 
able to combine the various resources and compel the different forces 
to cooperate. In this emergency, Grant, the only soldier who had 
met with continuous or brilliant success during the entire war, was 
called upon. 

He had now absolute command of two hundred thousand men; but 
these were widely separated. He had a territory reaching from the 
Alleghanies to the Mississippi to hold and to guard, and large hostile 
armies to intercept and overthrow. At Chattanooga, the army which 
Rosecranz had commanded was crowded into a small area south of 
the Tennessee, and encircled by mountains, on which the rebels, so 
lately victorious, were encamped; there was but one railroad line of 
communication with this town, and that the enemy had just cut off; so 
that the solitary route by which all supplies could reach Chattanooga 
was a rugged mountain road, seventy miles long, and now almost 
impassable on account of heavy rains. The army was on half rations; 
ten thousand mules and horses had died of starvation, and there seemed 
no possibility of rescue. Burnside was two hundred miles away, in 
East Tennessee, equally isolated, though not besieged; and Sherman 
was in Mississippi, with four hundred miles to march before he could 
relieve Chattanooga; and even when he reached that place, unless the 
enemy were driven away, he would only add to the miseries of the 
Union troops, as those already there could not be supplied with either 
food or ammunition. This was the condition of affairs when Grant 
assumed his new command. 

His first act was to place General George H. Thomas in the position 
lately occupied by Rosecranz. Grant assumed command on the 19th 
of October, but could not reach Chattanooga, on account of the break 
in communication, until the 23d. He telegraphed Thomas, however, 
on the 19th: "Hold Chattanooga at all hazards;" and Thomas replied, 
"I will hold the town till we starve." Grant went as far as Bridge- 
port by rail, and then took horse over the muddy mountain road. The 
rain fell in torrents, and often made it impossible for riders to keep 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. GO 

their seats on the precipitous mountain sides. Grant was still lame 
from his fall, and had to be carried over such places in the arms of 
his soldiers; but all along the route he was dispatching directions to 
Thomas, ordering supplies of ordnance and provisions from the rear, 
or sending messages to Burnside and to Sherman, encouraging one 
and hastening the other. 

He reached Chattanooga after dark, and that night was spent in 
looking over maps and studying the situation, apparently the gloomiest 
one in which a commander could be placed. The town is on the south 
side of the Tennessee, here very circuitous; the hills in front, not 
three miles off, called Missionary Ridge, were held by the enemy, 
whose line encircled Chattanooga, the rebel pickets reaching on both 
sides to the river. On Grant's right, the railroad runs west for a while 
and then north, to Nashville ; but Lookout Mountain, two thousand 
two hundred feet high, was in the hands of the rebels, and completely 
commanded this railroad. Indeed, from the top of the mountain, the 
enemy easily threw shells into Chattanooga. The rebel army was 
greatly larger than Grant's, and elated with its victory, while the 
Union troops, cooped up among the hills, with a river at their back 
and no apparent means of rescue or escape, starving and nearly out 
of ammunition, seemed only waiting till the enemy should choose to 
demand surrender. The situation was quite as desperate as Pember- 
ton's, on the 3d of July, at Vicksburg, for it was quite impossible to 
get the Union army away through the mountains on the north side of 
the Tennessee. But Pemberton was not in command at Chattanooga. 
It was G-rant. 

Next morning he made a reconnoissance of the country in the neigh- 
borhood of Lookout Mountain, and immediately gave directions for 
an aggressive movement in that direction. Portions of two corps 
from the army of the Potomac had been sent by Halleck to relieve 
Rosecranz, some weeks before ; but these were still at Bridgeport, 
sixty miles away to the west, as their presence at Chattanooga would 
only serve to enhance the difficulties of supply. But Grant directed 
these troops, under Hooker, to move up to the western side of Lookout 
Mountain, which is only a mile or two in width, and at the same time 
ordered a cooperative movement from Chattanooga. Troops were 
sent on the night of the 27th, in boats, down the Tennessee, who eluded 
the rebel pickets, till they reached a point called Brown's ferry, on 
the south side of the river, some nine miles below the town. Here 
they landed, seized the ferry, drove in or captured the enemy's out- 



70 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

guards, and maintained themselves while a bridge was laid, and a 
considerable force, that had been sent on the north side of the river, 
could be moved across the bridge. By ten o'clock, on the 28th, the 
position was secured. On the morning of the 26th, Hooker had moved 
from Bridgeport, and at six on the evening of the 28th he had marched 
around the foot of Lookout Mountain without serious opposition, 
secured the railroad, and connected with the force at Brown's Ferry. 

The rebels, however, at once saw how important it was that this 
connection should be broken; for, if Grant was able to maintain it, 
his railroad communication would be open again with the north, and 
supplies of men, ammunition, and provisions could be sent him. 
Accordingly, that night they attacked Hooker in force, and a severe 
battle ensued, the result of which was that the enemy was driven off 
in confusion, and the railroad secured to Grant. The Union troops 
lost over four hundred men in killed and wounded, but the price was 
not too great to pay, for it secured the army in Chattanooga. Thus, 
in five days after Grant's arrival, the railroad to Nashville was 
opened, and the immediate danger repelled. Bragg, indeed, was now 
on the defensive, not Grant; for Hooker's position threatened Look- 
out Mountain, and it was certain that as soon as supplies and 
ammunition could be procured, an offensive operation would begin. 
The army and the country were electrified at this immediate effect of 
Grant's presence, this reversal of the entire situation ; while the 
rebels were chagrined in an equal degree. 

Still, Grant's difficulties were gigantic. Burnside's twenty-five thou- 
sand men were a hundred miles from any navigable river by which 
they could be supplied, and farther yet from a railroad; they had to 
be supplied by a route over six hundred miles long; while Sherman, 
in his tedious march from the Mississippi, had to be met with provis- 
ions at various points; and all these lines of supply ran through a 
hostile country. Grant directed and superintended these operations 
as closely as he did the tactical movements in a battle; he even 
instructed Sherman what roads he should take; he sent word to 
Admiral Porter to convoy the steamers that carried supplies, and that 
officer, never hesitating, furnished the protection desired. 

But, on the 4th of November, Bragg, feeling the necessity of doing 
something to compensate for the disaster he had incurred at Brown's 
Ferry, sent an entire corps, under Longstreet, into East Tennessee, 
to destroy Burnside. Grant got word of the movement at once, and 
his situation became vastly more complicated. If Sherman had been 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 71 

up, he would have rejoiced at Bragg's movement, for he should at 
once have attacked the rebels in his front, now weakened by this 
abstraction. But the strength of Bragg's position, on the precipitous 
ridge and on the lofty crest of Lookout, was such, that no assault 
could be made until further reinforcements arrived. Meanwhile, 
Burnside was in immediate peril. 

Grant at once dispatched word to Sherman of this new danger, and 
urged him to increased speed. Still, Sherman's difficulties were pro- 
digious ; he had rivers to cross where there were no bridges, moun- 
tains to climb, enemies to meet; but, on the 13th of November, he 
reached Bridgeport with his command, and was summoned at once in 
person to Chattanooga. In the interim, Grant had been urging Burn- 
side to hold out against all odds. "I do not know how to impress on 
you the necessity of holding on to East Tennessee in strong enough 
terms." "It is of the most vital importance that East Tennessee 
should be held." "I can hardly conceive the necessity of retreating 
from East Tennessee. If I did so at all, it would be after losing most 
of the army. I will not attempt to lay out a line of retreat." " I want 
the enemy's progress retarded at every point all it can be, only giv- 
ing up each place when it becomes evident that it cannot longer be 
held without endangering your force to capture." " Can you hold 
the line from Knoxville to Clinton for seven days? If so, I think the 
whole Tennessee valley can be secured from present danger." 

For Grant's strategy was here, on a larger scale, exactly what it 
had been at Donelson. He meant to defend Burnside by attacking 
Bra^o - . He knew well that a victorious assault on the rebel centre, 
would bring back this venturesome column on the rebel right. His 
defence was always an offence. He never was satisfied with standing 
still to repel attack, but wanted to make a counter attack of his own, 
and convert security into victory. The reasons for the extreme anxi- 
ety he felt to save East Tennessee were twofold. First, that region 
was filled with a loyal population, which had suffered the crudest tor- 
tures from the rebels until a Union army had occupied the territory; 
and next, it was fertile beyond almost any portion of the South, and 
would afford immense supplies to the rebel armies if it fell once more 
into their hands. Besides this, it afforded a safe method of communi- 
cation between Bragg and Richmond. By every moral, political, an4 
military consideration, he was impelled, if possible, to maintain pos- 
session of East Tennessee. 

But Burnside was obliged to fall back before Lougstreet, although 



72 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

he did not abandon Knoxville, the key-point of the country ; and 
Grant's anxiety became intense, lest Sherman should arrive too late. 
He was once almost determined to assault before Sherman arrived, but 
the lack of artillery-horses made him abandon the idea. He could 
not send reinforcements to Burnside, for the enemy was directly be- 
tween the two national armies ; even couriers were uncertain ; and 
finally all communication was cut off. Still, this extraordinary man 
was full of confidence. He assured the Government that Burnside 
would hold out, and Sherman would arrive; that success would event- 
ually crown his plans. 

The rains, however, carried away bridges and inundated the roads, 
so that it was not till the 22d of November that Grant's arrangements 
were completed, and his armies in the position which he desired. 

The battle-field of Chattanooga is an irregular field, with Mission- 
ary Ridge on the east and the Tennessee river on the west. On what 
was Grant's left, Chickamauga creek empties into the Tennessee, and 
at the extreme right is Lookout Mountain; both extremities were in 
the hands of the rebels. Grant's plan was to bring Sherman along 
the north side of the river, from Brown's ferry to the point opposite 
Chickamauga creek, then to cross this portion of the command so as 
to form his new left ; Thomas was to be the centre, and to attack Mis- 
sionary Ridge directly in his front; while Hooker, on the right, would 
assail and carry Lookout Mountain. Sherman's principal endeavor 
was to be to reach and turn the northern extremity of Missionary 
Ridge, behind which was Chickamauga Station, on the southern rail- 
road, where Bragg's base and depot of supplies were situated ; Sher- 
man was to move up from Brown's ferry along a road concealed from 
the rebels by the opposite mountains; but as Bragg seemed to be ex- 
pecting an attack on his left flank, Grant ordered Sherman to confirm 
this notion, by advancing one division in that direction, and building 
large camp-fires there at night. 

At this crisis, Grant got word that Burnside and Longstreet had 
really begun the battle for the possession of East Tennessee, and still 
Sherman was delayed by more rains, and freshets, and broken bridges. 
"I have never felt," said Grant, "such restlessness before." Incon- 
sequence of these obstacles, Sherman did not arrive at his post on 
the north side of the Tennessee until the 23d of November. 

During the night of the 22d, however, a deserter from Bragg's army 
brought news that a division of the enemy was being sent to Long- 
street ; and Grant had other reasons for supposing that Bragg might 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 73 

be intending to fall back from Missionary Ridge. He accordingly 
ordered an advance by Thomas to ascertain the truth of this report. 
It would not do to let Bragg escape, without the battle for which the 
national commander had been waiting and preparing so long. Thomas 
accordingly moved a whole corps forward to develop the strength of,, 
the enemy The movement was measured, and the rebels so little 
anticipated it, that even after the troops were in line, the rebels leaned 
lazily on their muskets, mistaking the advance for a parade. They 
were soon undeceived by a heavy fire of musketry, and in fifteen min- 
utes their whole advanced line of rifle-pits was carried, and nothing 
remained in the possession of the rebels west of the rifle-pits, but the 
line at the foot of the ridge. Entrenchments were at once thrown up 
by Grant, protecting the ground thus gained, and Thomas's whole 
army was moved forward about a mile. Only one hundred men had 
been killed or wounded, but over two hundred rebels were captured. 
This success infused great animation into the Army of the Cum- 
berland. 

Meanwhile, Sherman was laboring up on the north bank of the Ten- 
nessee, where pontoon boats were hidden in the creeks that empty 
from that side of the river; and during the night of the 23d these 
were floated to the rebel picket-station, at the mouth of the Chicka- 
inauga. Troops were landed, the enemy's pickets seized, entrench- 
ments thrown up, and by daylight eight thousand Union soldiers were 
ashore. Immediately the building of the bridge began. At twenty 
minutes past twelve o'clock it was complete, and at one o'clock Sher- 
man began his march at the head of twenty thousand men for the 
northern end of Missionary Ridge. Pie began the fight by three and- 
a-half, pushed his troops up the hill, and before night had gained pos- 
session of an important hill, which he had supposed was the extremity 
of Missionary Ridge ; this, however, he discovered to be separated 
from the ridge by a deep ravine, which would cost him dear to cross. 
He entrenched, however, during the night, preparing for his grand 
attack on the morrow. 

Thomas's command this day remained in the position that had been 
gained the day before, waiting for the two wings of the grand army 
to get into position for the combined effort which Grant intended to 
make. Hooker, meanwhile, had moved his troops against Lookout 
Mountain with energy and skill ; and Bragg, who had become alarmed 
at Thomas's dispositions of the day before, withdrew a portion of the 
rebel force on the mountain, to reinforce his centre and right. This 



74 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

rendered Hooker's task easier, and by four o'clock he had climbed the 
mountain, in spite of prodigious natural difficulties, carried important 
works at its base and on the side, and established important connec- 
tion with the right of Thomas's command. Thomas also connected on 
his left with Sherman, so that, on the night of the 24th, Grant's line 
was all advanced, and in direct communication. Battles had been 
fought by the centre, and each wing; and each had been successful. 
Hooker's fight had thus far been the hardest, and late in the after- 
noon his progress was obscured from those in the valley by heavy 
clouds that settled on the mountain side, so that his troops seemed 
fighting in mid-air. That night the rebels evacuated the crest of the 
mountain, falling back on Bragg; and early in the morning the stars 
and stripes waved on the summit of Lookout. 

Grant was busy all night, sending directions to his three armies. 
He directed Sherman and Hooker to advance at dawn, each attracting 
as much force of the enemy as possible to one extremity, and, when 
this was accomplished, Thomas was to attack the weakened centre. 
Grant himself remained on a mound near Thomas's command, from 
which he could watch all the evolutions in the field. He was so near 
to Missionary Ridge, that when day dawned, Bragg's headquarters 
could be plainly seen. 

Sherman began his attack shortly after daylight. The ground in 
his front was extremely difficult, and had been strongly fortified. It 
was held in great force, for it was the key-point of the field. If this 
height was carried, the rebel army was cut off from its base, and from 
all communication with other portions of the rebel Confederacy. Sher- 
man assaulted with great vigor, and gained some ground; after this 
he repeatedly advanced, and was more than once repelled, losing, how- 
ever, none of the ground originally seized. The fight here was fierce 
and stubborn, and Bragg repeatedly sent large reinforcements to main- 
tain the position. Hooker, too, descended from Lookout Mountain 
to move against Bragg's new left. The enemy, retreating from the 
mountain in the night, however, had destroyed all the bridges, so that 
Hooker was delayed until nearly two o'clock before he reached the 
ridge. Sherman, meanwhile, was bearing the brunt of the battle; and 
Grant finally, perceiving a large rebel column moving towards Sher- 
man, determined that the hour had come for Thomas to advance. 

Accordingly, he himself gave the order, and two whole corps moved 
forward in one grand line against Missionary Ridge. The sight was 
magnificent beyond description. Sherman fighting on the north end,. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 75 

not five miles away, Hooker in the plain to the south, and here, at 
Grant's feet, four divisions of men on the run, their bayonets glancing 
in the afternoon sun. The rebels at the foot of the hill were unable 
to resist the effect of this waving, glittering mass of steel ; they flung 
themselves in the trenches, and the national troops passed over, send- 
ing their prisoners hurriedly to the rear, across the open plain. The 
order had been for the men to halt when the first line of pits was car- 
ried, and to reform before they attempted to mount the hill ; but now 
their blood was up, and it was impossible to restrain them. A tre- 
mendous fire of artillery poured down upon them from the ridge, 
nearly five hundred feet high, and half way up was another line of 
trench, from which more deadly musketry now struck down many a 
gallant soldier. But the line stopped not for this; the flags went on 
in advance, first one ahead and then another, and at last all along the 
ridge Grant's colors were planted on the second rebel line. Still 
there was another line of works on the crest, and now the ascent 
became almost perpendicular. The storm of musketry and artillery 
became more furious, but the men lay on their faces to avoid it, work- 
ing their way thus up the front of the mountain. Steadily, rapidly, 
on they pushed ; reached the parapet, poured over in a perfect tide, and 
carried the crest in six different places simultaneously. So instan- 
taneous was their success, and so little anticipated, that the rebel gun- 
ners were bayoneted at their pieces, and the rebel cannon turned upon 
the fugitives, enfilading the line right and left, and rendering it per- 
fectly untenable. 

The enemy was seized at once with a panic which all the exertions 
of Bragg and his officers could not restrain; here and there, a slight 
resistance was offered, but the great mass of the rebel army went 
tumbling in confusion down the eastern side of the ridge ; the national 
soldiers, not even stopping to reload their pieces, but driving the 
enemy with stones. At this moment, Hooker appeared on the rebel 
left, and completed the rout; Bragg was obliged not only to give up 
the ground in front of Thomas and Hooker, but to withdraw his right, 
which still offered resistance to Sherman. Grant had ridden up at 
once on the ridge to direct the pursuit, and forty pieces of artillery 
were captured in the open field. Sheridan, then a division commander 
in Thomas's army, pursued for seven miles. Six thousand prisoners 
were taken before morning. Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, 
and all the rifle-pits in Chattanooga valley were Grant's. The great 
rebel army, that had threatened him so long, was routed and in dis- 



76 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

graceful flight, and early on the 26th, Sherman took possession of 
Chickamauga Station. ' • 

That day and the next the pursuit was continued, Hooker in the 
advance. Everywhere the road was strewn with the wrecks of the 
dissolving army. On the 27th, Hooker came up with Bragg's rear- 
guard, at a gap in the mountains, and here the enemy made his last 
stand. A fight of several hours occurred, but the rebels finally with- 
drew, leaving the place in the hands of Grant, who now directed the 
pursuit to be discontinued. It was necessary to send reinforcements 
at once to Burnside. 

Grant lost in this series of battles seven hundred and fifty-seven 
killed, four thousand five hundred and twenty-nine wounded, and three 
hundred and thirty missing; the rebels, three hundred and sixty-one 
killed, two thousand one hundred and eighty wounded, and over six 
thousand prisoners, besides forty cannon. Their loss in killed and 
wounded was smaller, because they fought with every imaginable 
advantage of cover and position. They had forty-five thousand men 
engaged, and Grant had about sixty thousand; but the extraordinary 
position they occupied was worth to them, according to all the rules 
of the military art, five times an equal number of assailants. Bragg 
said, in his official report of the fight, that the strength of the p>osition 
was such, that a line of skirmishers ought to have maintained it against 
any assaulting column. 

No battle was ever fought more exactly according to the plan laid 
down in advance. Hooker drew attention to the right, Sherman forced 
the enemy to mass in his front, just as had been designed, and Thomas 
was made to attack the weakened centre at the critical moment, and 
more than the results hoped for were achieved. Armies were moved 
to fight this battle, from the Mississippi and the Potomac, and came up 
in time; mountains were climbed, rivers bridged and crossed under 
fire, ridges scaled, though held by hostile armies, and the enemy him- 
self took his part in the plan exactly as had been foreseen, as if he 
too had been under the orders of Grant. No prouder triumph of 
military skill can be achieved than this. Three separate forces con- 
tended on the Union side ; Grant's old troops from Vicksburg did the 
hardest fighting under Sherman, worthy of their old renown ; and, 
holding the great mass of the enemy at the key-point of the battle, 
made all the successes possible; Thomas's army, now directly under 
the eye of Grant, rivalled the proudest achievements that his famous 
veterans had ever performed ; while, for the first time, soldiers from 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 77 

tho army of the Potomac were marshalled under the orders of him 
with whose name that army's fame was destined to be forever and so 
gloriously associated. 

Chattanooga secured, Chickamauga avenged, the road to Atlanta and 
to the sea laid bare, Tennessee protected, Georgia and Alabama threat- 
ened — these were the results of the battle fought on the 24th, 25th, 
and 2Gth of November, 1863. The battle of Chattanooga, however, 
did not really end until the fight at Ringgold, on the 27th of November. 
The same day, Grant, who had gone on with the pursuing column, 
sent word to Thomas, "Direct Granger to start at once, marching as 
rapidly as possible to the relief of Burnside ;" for Grant's victory 
would have been dearly purchased, splendid as it was, if Burnside 
had been lost. Burnside was, by this time, shut up in Knoxville, 
where Longstreet was besieging him with a superior force. His sup- 
plies were short, and the loyal people of the country floated stores 
down the river into the town by night. Grant, as has been seen, had 
repeatedly sent him word to hold out, promising support the instant that 
his own still more immediate necessities would allow. The commander 
did not fail to keep his word. The day after the battle of Ringgold, 
he returned to Chattanooga, where he discovered that Granger had not 
yet started. He therefore ordered Sherman to move as rapidly as 
possible towards Knoxville, and assume command of all the forces 
marching towards Burnside. The distance to Knoxville is nearly a 
hundred miles; the roads were bad, the supplies scanty, bridges seven 
hundred feet in length had been destroyed and must be rebuilt; yet, 
on the 5th of December, Sherman was able to dispatch to Burnside, 
"lean bring twenty-five thousand men into Knoxville to-morrow." 
In the meantime, Burnside had repelled a furious attack of the rebel 
army, and Longstreet, hearing of Bragg's disaster at Chattanooga, 
and of Sherman's advance, had already abandoned the siege and 
retreated in the direction of Virginia. Burnside, therefore, announced 
that he needed only one corps of Sherman's force; and, satisfied that 
his own approach had served to raise the siege of Knoxville, Sherman 
returned to Grant. 

Thus, then, after campaigns, and battles, and marches, and sieges, 
was Chattanooga secured forever to the nation ; Knoxville, too, was 
relieved, not agaki to be endangered by rebels; and the inhabitants 
of East Tennessee, who had suffered so greatly for their devotion to 
the Union, were emancipated from the fear as well as the reality of 
rebel rule. The great army of Bragg, so long defiant and terrible, 
was separated never to be reunited, and the gateway to Georgia passed 



78 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

into the possession of the soldiers of the Government, who, in their j 
turn, could assume the offensive, and threaten the interior of the 
States so faithful to treason. The President issued a proclamation, 
appointing a day of thanksgiving to God for these great benefits. 
Congress voted thanks to Grant and to all under his command, and 
a gold medal was presented to Grant in the name of the people of 
the United States of America. The nation knew no bounds in its 
gratitude to its saviour. 

At this time overtures were made to Grant by prominent politicians 
of both parties, who solicited him to become their candidate for the 
Presidency. He, however, felt that his duty was to remain in the " 
field until the rebellion should be crushed, and turned a deaf ear to 
the entreaties of all who approached him on this errand. 

But, if he could not or would not assume the entire control of the 1 
Government, the country was determined that to him alone should be 
committed the entire charge of its military affairs. Nowhere, except ! 
where he had commanded, had any great success attended our arms ; the ] 
gallantry of the soldiers was as conspicuous in other fields, the devotion 
of the country was as earnest elsewhere, the supplies as persistent, 
but everywhere else defeat or successful resistance had repelled our 
advance. Grant alone had chained victory to his standards. He 
alone had never been defeated. He had opened the Mississippi, the 
Tennessee, and the Kentucky rivers, had captured Donelson and i 
Vicksburg, had secured Georgia, and annihilated three separate rebel 
armies; the nation imperatively demanded that he should be placed 
at the head of its soldiers. 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL. 

Within ten days after his victory of Chattanooga, a bill was intro- 
duced into Congress, creating a new grade in the American army, to 
be conferred upon Grant. The grade was that of lieutenant general; 
it had been borne by no American but Washington; and with it was 
to be conferred on the successor of Washington the command of all 
the armies; a command more than tenfold larger than any which the 
Father of his Country ever enjoyed. This bill was passed by immense 
majorities in both houses; and on the 1st of March, the President 
appointed Grant to the most important position ever filled by an 
American. The Presidency itself dwindled into insignificance before 
this office — this absolute command of half a million of soldiers, at the 
crisis of the nation's history. The day after the nomination was made, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 79 

the Senate confirmed it, and Grant was notified on the 3d of March to 
report in person to the Secretary of War, at Washington. On the 
4th, he started for the capital. 

He had used no influence to hring ahout this result. One of his 
biographers says: "I was with him while the bill was being de- 
bated, and spoke to him more than once on the subject. He never 
manifested any anxiety or even desire for the success of the bill; nor 
did he ever seem to shrink from the responsibilities it would impose 
upon him. If the country chose to call him to higher spheres and 
more important services, whatever ability or energy he possessed, he 
was willing to devote to the task. If, on the contrary, he had been 
left at the post which he then held, he would not have felt a pang 
of disappointed pride." Every promotion he ever received was made 
without his knowledge; and even after this bill was introduced, he 
wrote to the introducer, saying that he had already been highly hon- 
ored by the Government, and did not ask or deserve anything more 
in the shape of honors or promotion; that success over the enemy 
was what he desired above everything else. The country, however, 
did not put so low an estimate on his ability; it felt the need of his 
services in a still wider sphere, and in a more enlarged capacity than 
any in which they had hitherto been displayed. The country was 
grateful; but it was for its own sake, not his, that it now called 
Grant to the command of all its armies, just as it will in next No- 
vember call him to the highest civil station, not in order to reward 
Mm, but to bring "peace, and prosperity its sequence," to our dis- 
tracted land. 

Before starting for Washington, Grant wrote to his true and 
trusted friend and coadjutor, Sherman, announcing his promotion, 
and with characteristic generosity and modesty attributing to Sher- 
man, McPherson, and "many officers" who had served under him, 
much of the success which he had attained. "What ( I want is," he 
said, " to express my thanks to you and McPherson." "I feel all the 
gratitude this letter could express, giving it the most flattering con- 
struction. The word you I use in the plural, intending it for McPher- 
son also." Sherman wrote in reply, "You do yourself injustice, and 
us too much honor, in assigning to us too large a share of the merits 
which have led to your high advancement." "You arc now the 
legitimate successor of Washington, and occupy a position of almost 
dangerous elevation ; but if you can continue, as heretofore, to be 
yourself — simple, honest, and unpretending — you will enjoy through 



80 LIFE OF GENERAL GKANT. 

life the respect and love of friends and the homage of millions of 
human beings, that will award you a large share in securing to them 
and their descendants a government of law and order." The predic- 
tion has been wonderfully verified. Even earlier than this, Sherman 
had said, "You occupy a position of more power than Halleck or the 
President. There are similar instances in European history, but none 
in ours. Your reputation as a general is now far above that of any 
man living. Let others manoeuvre as they will, you will beat them, not 
only in fame, but in doing good in the closing scenes of this war, when 
somebody must heal and mend up the breaches made by war." This 
almost seems prophetic, when we remember the marvellous influence 
Grant possessed at the close of the war, and the wonderful use he 
made of it, to secure magnanimous treatment of those whom his arms 
had vanquished. 

He reached Washington after a tour of four days, along the whole 
route receiving one continued and enthusiastic ovation from his grate- 
ful countrymen. On his arrival at the capital, he went at once to pay 
his respects to the President. He was discovered, however, at the 
hotel, where he had registered his name as U. S. G-rant, Chattanooga. 
The people rose in cheers at the dining table; and, when he presented 
himself, at a public levee, to the President, the throng and the enthu- 
siasm were immense ; the President was left almost unattended, while 
every one crowded around the victorious hero. On the 9th of March, 
Mr. Lincoln, in the presence of his Cabinet, presented to the successor 
of Washington his commission of lieutenant general, assuring him of 
the nation's appreciation of what he had done, and its reliance upon 
him for what remained to be done in the great struggle. " With this 
high honor," he said, "devolves upon you also a corresponding re- 
sponsibility; as the country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will 
sustain you." A promise that the country faithfully fulfilled, and 
to which it is not likely now to prove recreant. Grant replied in 
simple language, befitting the dignity of the occasion, so far beyond 
any eloquence but that of truth and earnestness. "I accept the com- 
mission, with gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the aid 
of the noble armies that have fought in so many fields for our common 
country, it will be my earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expec- 
tations. I feel the full weight of the reponsibilities now devolving 
on me ; and I know that if they are met, it will be due to those armies, 
and, above all, to the favor of that Providence which leads both nations 
and men" — a Providence which did not desert him then, and will not 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 81 

now. The aid, too, of those noble armies which he invoked, was not 
lacking during the war, nor will it fail him in the contest in which he 
is now engaged, and upon which he characteristically says he would 
not have entered, had he not supposed himself again to represent those 
whom he led in the great struggle for national existence. Providence 
and the mass of loyal men being again on the side of Grant, he will 
again trample down those same hosts in the political battle-field whom 
he conquered so signally in war. For it is the same men, whether at 
the South or at the North, who opposed him with arms or with slander, 
while the rebellion lasted, who now wish his downfall. It is the same 
men whom he will again force to unconditionally surrender. 

PLAN OF CAMPAIGNS FOR 1864. 

On the 17th of March, 1864, Grant assumed command of all the 
armies of the United States, announcing that his headquarters would 
be in the field, and, for the present, with the Army of the Potomac. 
Hitherto, during the war, the commander-in-chief of the army had 
remained at Washington ; but Grant preferred to be present in person, 
where he could direct the operations of the force whose movements 
should seem most important. That force at present was the Army of 
the Potomac. At the West, the Mississippi river was free again, and 
the victory at Chattanooga had laid open still another path to the sea. 
This path Grant himself had meant to follow, and early in January 
had so announced to the Government, as well as to his own most 
important subordinates. His plan had been to fight his way to 
Atlanta, and thence to move either to Mobile or Savannah, as events 
should dictate. But he now determined to turn over this operation to 
Sherman, and, while he still directed that officer and all others in the 
army — to command in person the force whose duty was the preserva- 
tion and protection of the national capital, as well as the destruction 
of the army that covered and defended Richmond. This rebel host 
had long threatened Washington; it had twice invaded the loyal 
States, and thus far had repelled with slaughter every attack made on 
it by national commanders. Until it should be annihilated, the life of 
the nation was not safe, no matter what victories were gained else- 
where. Its destruction had proven the most difficult task of all those 
intrusted to Union generals, and this, therefore, the new commander- 
in-chief assigned to himself. "Like yourself," said Sherman,, "you. 
take the biggest load." 
6 



82 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT 

But although present with the Army of the Potomac, Grant meant 
also to direct the movements of all the others. Up to this time, to 
use his own expressive simile, the armies. East and West, had acted 
like a "balky team, no two ever pulling together." The new man at 
the reins meant to control the team, and drive its members all in one 
direction. For this he needed a clear eye, a strong and skillful hand, 
a certainty of the goal which he meant to reach, and a fearless determi- 
nation to attain that goal in spite of all or any obstacles. The rebels, 
so far, had acted in unison, and many a time moved troops from a less- 
threatened quarter to another more vigorously pressed ; having the 
inside lines, they could do this more expeditiously, and thus often 
made their smaller resources in reality as available as the larger but 
more widely-separated armies of the nation. Grant determined to 
put an end to all this; no longer to allow any rest to the rebels, but 
to attack them everywhere, simultaneously and continuously, without 
regard to seasons or weather ; no longer to allow the strength of the 
loyal troops to be neutralized by the defensive position and the supe- 
rior skill of the enemy. 

Accordingly, he issued orders for Sherman to move against Atlanta 
and Johnston, on the very day that the Army of the Potomac, under 
Meade, should commence operations against Lee; and, at the same 
time, General Butler was to attack Richmond, Sigel was to move two 
smaller forces into Virginia; and Banks, with all the force he could 
muster, was to attack Mobile, thus threatening the rear of the rebels 
in front of Sherman, and opening a way for that commander when he 
should march south to the sea. This was the original plan with which 
Grant set out to conquer the rebellion, after he assumed command of 
of the armies of the United States. This plan was entirely his own ; 
no one suggested it; no one knew of it until it was conceived by him. 
Even then, not a dozen men knew it, until it had absolutely been be- 
gun. Mr. Lincoln wrote to Grant, just before the armies moved, in 
the following words : 

" Executive Mansion, Washington, 

"April 30, 1864. 
"Lieutenant General Grant: 

"Not expecting to see you before the spring campaign opens, I wish 
to express in this way my entire satisfaction with what you have done 
up to this time, so far as I understand it. The particulars of your 
plans I neither know nor seek to know. You are vigilant and self 



LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 83 

reliant, and pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any restraints or 
constraints upon you. While I am very anxious that any great dis- 
aster or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I know 
that these points are less likely to escape your attention than they 
would be mine. If there be anything wanting which is within my 
power to give, do not fail to let me know it. And now, with a brave 
army and a just cause, may God sustain you. 

" Yours, very truly, 

"A. Lincoln." 

But Grant's plan met with an obstruction before it was fairly begun ; 
an obstruction that necessitated a change, or an omission rather, at 
the start. General Banks, whom Grant had ordered to attack Mobile 
with fifty thousand men, had been sent, before Grant became lieu- 
tenant general, on an expedition west of the Mississippi, and up the 
Red river. As soon as Grant assumed command, he sent orders for 
Banks to return, abandoning this preposterous and outside enterprise, 
which could do nothing towards securing the main military objects of 
of the war, and was using up troops that might be so much better em- 
ployed elsewhere. But before Grant's orders reached Banks, the lat- 
ter had got so far into the interior of Louisiana, that it was impossible 
for him to return without fighting the enemy, stirred up now by the 
national advance; and the battle which ensued resulted disastrously 
for Banks. His army was so broken up, that it could not be counted 
on for effective operations in the grand combination of movements 
which Grant had planned. The news of this misfortune did not reach 
the commander-in-chief till a short time before he was ready to move 
his other armies; it was a great disappointment; but there was no 
time for other arrangements, and he determined to proceed with the 
rest of his plan exactly as had been proposed. 

He established his headquarters at Culpeper, Virginia, in the last 
days of March, 1864; and from this point sent orders to all his vari- 
ous commanders ; to Sherman, and Sigel, and Butler, and Banks, 
while Meade was only a few miles distant, and visited him daily. The 
first duty of all was concentration. No troops were to be wasted 
holding unimportant positions; none to be scattered over the North, 
except when it was indispensable. Furloughs were revoked, officers 
and men ordered to their posts ; armies organized, supplied forwarded, 
and when the spring rains ceased, the various forces were ready to 
move. 



84 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

The situation at that time was as follows: the Army of the Poto- 
mac, ninety-seven thousand strong, lay on the north bank of the 
Rapidan, covering Washington and opposing Lee's army, which was 
seventy-three thousand in number, and immediately south of the 
Rapidan, covering and defending Richmond. Butler had a force of 
nearly thirty thousand men at the mouth of the James, which he was 
ordered to transport suddenly up that river, landing on the south side, 
at City Point and Bermuda Hundred, and thence to move against 
Richmond, at the same time that the Army of the Potomac attacked 
Lee. A force nearly equal to his own opposed Butler, under Beaure- 
gard. Grant hoped either to force Lee to fall back, in order to save 
Richmond, or, if the main rebel army remained to fight, near the 
Rapidan, that Butler might slip in and capture the enemy's capital. 
Along the northern line of Virginia, it was necessary to maintain a 
Union force, in order to protect the North against invasion. These 
were the troops under Sigel, ten or twelve thousand strong, but 
instead of keeping them on the defensive, Grant determined to move 
them to the interior of Virginia, so as to threaten the enemy in rear, 
and compel him either to subtract from his main force, under Lee, 
in order to guard the exposed region, or to run the risk of losing 
that region altogether. Other commanders had been content with 
simply holding the line of northern Virginia, but Grant converted 
the troops employed for this purpose into an offensive force ; not 
with a view of making any one prodigious and positive effort with 
them, but to threaten and confuse and worry and weaken the enemy. 
About ten thousand rebels, under Breckinridge, were in Sigel's 
front. Sherman, meanwhile, was at Chattanooga, with all the force 
that could be accumulated there, ready to move against the main 
rebel army of the West, now under Jos. E. Johnston. Sherman's 
objective point was Johnston's army; this Grant directed him to fol- 
low wherever it went, to fight it whenever he could, and to advance as 
far as possible into the heart of Georgia, in the direction of Atlanta, 
the great railroad centre of the entire southwest. When Atlanta fell, 
he was to push through to the sea, cutting the so-called Confederacy 
in two once more, as Grant had done when he opened the Mississippi 
river. 

Grant's own objective was to be Lee's army. He was firm in the 
conviction that no peace could be had, that would be stable and con- 
ducive to the happiness of the people, both North and South, until 
the military power of the rebellion was entirely broken ; and it was 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 85 

the military forces, rather than the fortified towns, which he made 
the objects of all his campaigns. Meade was instructed that wherever 
Lee went, he would go too. Grant meant to use the greatest number 
of troops practicable against the armed force of the enemy; this view 
he kept constantly in mind, and in this view all his orders were given, 
and all his campaigns made. When he began his operations, the 
rebels still held a territory over eight hundred thousand square miles 
in extent, and maintained a population of nine millions in revolt. All 
west and south of the Arkansas river was in their possession, and east 
of the Mississippi nearly all the region south of the Tennessee. All 
of Virginia south of the Rapidan, except the mouth of the James, 
and thence south, all the territory of the Union, except a narrow 
strip along the Atlantic coast, was also in the hands of the enemy. 
To rescue this vast region, and to overcome this population and its 
armies, was the herculean task undertaken by Ulysses S. Grant. No 
greater was ever achieved by the most renowned soldiers in history. 
The enemy was of the same race as his own troops; brave, expe- 
rienced, numerous, desperate; acquainted with the country, of which 
the national forces were ignorant, skillfully led, and possessing all 
the immense advantages of a defensive position. But Grant did not 
flinch at the prospect. 

On the 4th of May, his armies were ready to move, That day 
Meade crossed the Rapidan with the Army of the Potomac, moving 
to the right and east of Lee, and placing himself so as to face west 
and south ; the same day Sherman moved out from Chattanooga against 
Johnston, and Butler started for City Point, while the two forces into 
which Sigel's command was divided, were also simultaneously put in 
motion. A more striking instance of concert in movement was never 
known in war. Here were five different armies, numbering more than 
two hundred thousand men, and separated by thousands of miles, all 
directed by one man, and moving on the same day. That night, after 
Grant had crossed the Rapidan, he received dispatches by telegraph 
from Sherman and Butler and Sigel, announcing the operations of 
the day. 

WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN. 

Lee made no attempt to interrupt Grant's crossing, but early on the 
morning of the 5th of May, he came out of his entrenchments at Mine 
Run, a creek running north into the Rapidan, and attacked the Army 
of the Potomac while it was getting into position. Grant put his 



86 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

troops in line as quickly as possible, and the battle of the Wilderness 
began. It raged all day with unequal success, and at night neither 
party could claim a victory. The forest was dense and the roads nar- 
row, and it was difficult to manoeuvre troops ; indeed, no artillery at 
all could be used. On the 6th, the battle was renewed with unabated 
fury, and one of the most remarkable conflicts of the war ensued. 
There was no cessation until night, and even after dark an attempt 
was made to turn Grant's right, but failed. No decided success had 
been achieved by either party, and on the 7th neither seemed inclined 
to renew the fight. Lee's effort to force Grant back across the Rap- 
idan, as Hooker andBurnside and Meade had successively been forced 
before, had failed; but Grant had not been able to drive Lee from the 
position first assumed; and there the great armies lay, like two wild 
beasts exhausted after the terrible struggle, glaring at each other, 
neither mortally wounded, each ready to spring to the defence if the 
other should assail. 

As it was apparent that Lee did not mean to assume the offensive 
again, Grant at once issued orders for a movement to the left towards 
Spottsylvania Court House, which would probably force Lee in the 
same direction, for otherwise Grant could place his whole army between 
the rebels and Richmond. Few other generals would have dreamed of 
taking this responsibility, of advancing after so terrible a battle in 
which no decisive advantage had been gained; and leaving Lee, if he 
chose, to move upon Grant's rear, or even in the direction of Wash- 
ington. But to return, or even to be stayed in his course, did not occur 
to Grant. He would have asked nothing better than that Lee should 
move North, presenting his oWn flank to Grant in the act; but he was 
confident that too much injury had been sustained by his rebel antag- 
onist to leave him able or willing to undertake this. With all the 
grimness and determination with which he had maintained his own at 
Shiloh; in the same spirit in which he had persevered at Vicksburg; 
with a daring equal to that displayed atDonelson, when in the blackest 
moment he ordered another charge, Grant now turned the head of his 
column towards Richmond, while Lee still lay formidable in his front. 
He thus not only made one of the most hazardous of military opera- 
tions, a flank movement in the presence of the enemy ; but, what was 
of far more moment, he displayed to his own army and to Lee's the 
peculiar character of his nature, which difficulties never deter nor 
dangers appall ; his conduct impressed the rebels so that they did not 
attempt to interrupt his movement despite the opportunity, and it 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 87 

inspired his own soldiers with the temper of their commander. When 
he rode along their ranks at night, with his horse's head towards Rich- 
mond, all stiff with fatigue and sore with wounds as they were, they 
rose from their beds on the battle-field, amid the corpses of their 
slaughtered comrades, and shouted for the chief who proved to them 
that the slaughter and the toil were not to be in vain. It was a pledge 
to the army that they should not turn their faces away from Richmond 
until it was taken; the army accepted the pledge, and their huzzas 
were the endorsement they gave to their new commander. They 
cheered, indeed, so loud, that the enemy thought there was another 
assault, and came out to meet it. And thus Grant passed on after 
the great battle of the Wilderness, tacitly promising his soldiers that 
reward, which they were a year, it is true, in gaining, but which finally 
came, more complete and glorious than the most sanguine had ever 
dared to anticipate. This midnight ride was the fitting precursor of 
Appomattox Court House. Four days after, Grant sent his famous 
dispatch: u I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." 
It did take all summer, and all winter too, but Grant remained on the 
same line, and, when that was fought out, the rebellion was ended. 

The enemy, however, at once discovered the movement, and, falling 
rapidly back, as Grant had supposed, reached Spottsylvania before 
him, which was not what he desired. But the line from Lee's army to 
Spottsylvania was shorter than Grant's route by some miles. The 
marching was done in the night of the 7th, and on the 8th an attack 
was made by Grant at Spottsylvania. It did not succeed. On the 
9th, 10th, and 11th, the Union army was constantly engaged in 
manoeuvring and fighting, but without result. On the 12th, a vigorous 
attack was made on the rebel line, now defended by field works of 
unusual strength, and at one place the 2d corps, under Hancock, 
succeeded in carrying an important salient, capturing an entire divis- 
ion of rebel infantry and twenty pieces of artillery; the subsequent 
resistance, however, was so obstinate, that even this success did not 
prove decisive. The loss of life on both sides had now been large, 
and Grant sent back to Washington for reinforcements, while Lee did 
the same to Richmond. A week was spent in manoeuvring and wait- 
ing for these fresh troops. The rebels, however, made no assault in 
all this time, on Grant, contenting themselves with the defensive. On 
the 19th of May, however, a rebel corps came out of its works on the 
extreme right of Grant, and attacked him with great fury, but was 
repulsed with immense loss. This was the last attack in force ever 



88 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

made by Lee on Grant, though the war lasted ten months longer. The 
battles of the Wilderness and of Spottsylvania so crippled the rebel 
strength and affected the rebel spirits, that their commander never 
again dared trust his troops outside of their works in any great assault. 

Grant now determined to renew the tactics to which he had resorted 
after the Wilderness; and, on the night of the 21st, he began another 
movement by the left flank, towards the North Anna river, with a view 
again of placing himself between Lee and Richmond. Of course, he 
exposed himself to the same risk of Lee getting between him and 
Washington, but he always took risks; and Lee never ventured to 
avail himself of the chance. As fast as Grant threatened to cut off 
the rebel communications, the enemy fell back to protect them, and 
thus, when Grant reached the North Anna, Lee was there before him, 
having necessarily, from his position in all these movements, the 
shorter line. The North Anna, however, was crossed by a portion of 
Grant's army, despite severe opposition. 

Meanwhile, Butler had moved promptly, on the 4th of May, siezed 
City Point, at the mouth of the Appomattox river, as well as Bermuda 
Hundred, on the opposite bank of that stream. His movements for 
some days afterwards, however, were not productive of any result of 
importance. On the 13th and 14th, he moved up to the rear of 
Drury's Bluff, a fort on the south side of the James, and about seven 
miles below Richmond. But the rebels had meantime collected all 
their scattered forces in North and South Carolina ; and, on the 16th, 
they attacked Butler, and forced him back to his entrenchments 
between the forks of the James and Appomattox, where he was com- 
pletely safe indeed, but entirely useless for offensive operations. Lee, 
in consequence, was able to reinforce his army in front of Grant with 
at least a division brought from before Richmond. Sigel's operations 
had also been unfortunate; he had advanced up the Valley of Vir- 
ginia, as far as New Market, where he suffered a severe defeat, and 
retreated behind Cedar creek. In consequence of this result, Lee 
was able to bring several thousand reinforcements from the Valley of 
Virginia to oppose the Army of the Potomac. 

Grant, however, learning that rebel troops had been moved from 
Butler's front to reinforce Lee, immediately ordered Butler to send 
all his available force to the Army of the Potomac, retaining only 
enough on the south side of the James to secure what had already 
been gained. 

Before these reinforcements reached Grant, he had made a third 



LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 89 

movement to the left, finding that the position of the rebels on the 
North Anna was stronger than either of those they had previously 
held. On the night of the 26th, the Union forces withdrew to the 
north bank of the North Anna, then marched south and east, and 
crossed the Pamunkey river at Hanovertown. The enemy, however, 
made a corresponding movement, and, when Grant arrived at Cold 
Harbor, and the Chickahominy, Lee was again in his front. 

The additions to the forces on each side had brought the armies of 
both Lee and Grant up to nearly the numbers with which they started 
from the Rapidan, when both approached Cold Harbor, about ten 
miles from Richmond. Several indecisive conflicts occurred here, 
and, on the 3d of June, Grant ordered a general assault upon the 
enemy's works, but met with the same result as at Spottsylvania; the 
enemy, behind his bulwarks, was doubled in strength, according to all 
the estimates of the military art, and the national troops were unsuc- 
cessful in the attempt to penetrate the works. This was the only 
encounter of the campaign in which Grant did not inflict upon the 
enemy a damage which compensated for his own. All the other battles 
had resulted in what he had been striving to accomplish — in such a 
terrible weakening of the enemy, that his own losses were endurable 
for the sake of inflicting on the rebels what they were so much less 
able to sustain. Every battle fought thus far had tended plainly to 
the complete overthrow of the rebellion. And this was what Grant 
set out to accomplish. It was what none of his predecessors had suc- 
ceeded in doing, in three years of effort, and loss, and failure. It 
had been sadly proven in those three years that only through great 
loss and effort could that result be attained; and, when he started 
from the Rapidan, Grant made up his mind that only the annihilation 
of Lee's army, and the exhaustion of all the rebel forces, would allow 
the suppression of the rebellion. All these battles — of the Wilderness, 
of Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor — were fought and persisted in with 
the intention of gradually weakening and finally destroying Lee. 
They effected their purpose, at the price of precious lives, it is true, 
but at that price the Union was saved, and could alone be saved ; all 
other means had failed; no skill had proved sufficient, no courage had 
availed, until Grant came, and dealt those tremendous blows, which 
were the real death blows from which the rebellion never recovered. 
They did what he set out to do. 

They not only depleted Lee so terribly that he never again assaulted 
Grant, but they drove the rebel commander step by step from the Rap- 



90 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

idan to the James, from which he never afterwards advanced except in 
the direction of Appomattox Court House. Grant at Cold Harbor 
was master of the region between Richmond and Washington ; his 
communication with the latter city was open, while the rebels were 
shut up within the doomed town, which so many of our leaders had 
striven to reach in vain. 

When Grant started from the Rapidan, it had been his intention to 
cross the James and attack Richmond on the south side, unless he 
should sooner overthrow Lee on the way. The situation of Richmond 
is peculiar; it is supplied from the south by three railroads, that run, 
one, the Weldon road, directly into North Carolina, and so on through 
the Atlantic States; another, reaching west to Chattanooga, and con- 
necting with the entire southwestern region of the attempted Confed- 
eracy ; the third, running southwest into the interior, as far as Danville. 
Grant saw, by a glance at the map, that when these railroads were in 
his power, Richmond must fall. Before the campaign began, he declared 
to those in his confidence, his intention to seize these roads, as soon 
as Lee ghould be driven into Richmond. This was now accomplished- 
Lee was within ten miles of the city which he defended and Grant 
besieged. Lee's army and Richmond were now become one objective 
point, and Grant at once set about carrying out the secondary plan 
he had formed six weeks before. 

He marched his army across the James, making a fourth movement 
to the left, in the very sight of the enemy, who was too weak and had 
suffered too greatly to come out and obstruct the operation. Grant's 
pickets were within hailing distance of Lee's; his army front was not 
five hundred yards from the rebel works at Cold Harbor; but he 
withdrew his forces from this close propinquity, made a fourth flank 
movement in the very presence of his enemy, built bridges across the 
James two thousand two hundred feet in length, and crossed his whole 
army, with an immense wagon train, without the loss of a man, Lee 
not daring to come out of his works once, not offering the slightest 
opposition to an operation of such combined delicacy and magnitude. 
No better proof of the damage the rebel commander had sustained could 
be offered or required. 

During this campaign, Grant had fought the battles of the Wilder- 
ness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, and Cold Harbor, besides a dozen 
smaller skirmishes, some of which rose to the proportions of an ordi- 
nary battle; and after each fight, he had advanced and Lee had with- 
drawn. While covering and protecting Washington, the Union com- 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. SO 

mander had steadily proceeded from the Rapidan to the James. He 
had lost, from the 5th of May to the 12th of June, six thousand killed, 
twenty-six thousand wounded, and nearly seven thousand missing; 
total, less than forty thousand men, of whom half eventually returned 
to duty. The losses of the rebels can never be definitely known, as 
so many of their records have been destroyed; but Grant captured 
in this period over ten thousand of the enemy, while his own loss in 
missing, as has already been stated, was less than seven thousand; 
doubtless, most of these were prisoners; so that Grant took about 
four thousand more prisoners than Lee. It is fair to suppose, then, 
that Lee's other losses (in killed and wounded) at least equalled those 
of Grant. 

In comparing the losses in this campaign with those of Grant's 
predecessors, it should not be forgotten, that Grant was victorious, 
and the other repelled; yet Grant's entire loss was forty thousand. 
In the. great European battles, the losses were very much greater. 
At Jena, twenty thousand Prussians and fourteen thousand French 
were put hors du combat on one day; at Eylau, the losses were twenty- 
five thousand on one side, and thirty thousand on the other; at 
Wagram, twenty-five thousand on a side; at Borodina, fifty thousand 
on a side ; at Leipsic, sixty thousand on one side, and forty-three thou- 
sand on the other; and at Waterloo, the French lost forty thousand, 
and the allies forty-nine thousand; so that frequently, in a single 
battle, as many men were killed or wounded as Grant lost in the 
whole Wilderness campaign. 

CO-OPERATIVE CAMPAIGNS OF GRANT. 

Grant's army was now thrown rapidly on the southern side, he still 
fighting it out on the original line; for, as has been seen, all this was 
in consummation of the plan he had announced to his subordinates 
before he left the Rapidan. He was still following Lee and aiming 
at Richmond. The James river was crossed on the 13th of June, 1864. 

Meanwhile, Hunter, who had superseded Sigel, was sent into the 
region to the northwest of Richmond, with the idea of living off the 
country there, so as to destroy its supplies, and, if possible, cut the 
rebel communication with the West. By this expedition, and another 
simultaneously dispatched under Sheridan towards Staunton, Virginia, 
Grant meant to act upon the principle with which he set out, of weak- 
ening the enemy in every quarter at once. While he himself should 



92 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

be making the main attack at the heart of the rebellion, his 
dinates, in every part of the theatre of war, were to exhaust, and 
annoy, and tire out the rebels, to prevent them from concent 
or recruiting, or reinforcing, or resting, so that when the final blow 
should be given at the vital part, that should indeed be the end. 

In this way all the campaigns were made cooperative'; all were sub- 
ordinate to his own, the most difficult of all. Sherman and Hunter 
and Butler had all been assisting him to carry out that unity in the 
movements which he had conceived, for all the while he was fighting 
Lee he was directing all his subordinates. Every day he got dis- 
patches from Sherman and sent him orders in reply. That great sol- 
dier was accustomed to report his situation daily to his chief, and ask, 
"Shall I fight to-day or to-morrow? do you want me to move to the 
richt or to the left?" He knew the absolute necessity of his doing 
everything so as to -contribute to carry out Grant's scheme ; he felt 
that he was not fighting an independent campaign ; that he was but part 
of a great whole, which Grant was managing and controlling; and 
with grand and patriotic subordination, he was content with his part, 
and never interfered with Grant's views, or sought to set up for him- 
self what might perhaps have been better for his own army, but worse, 
in the end, for the great result at which the chief was aiming. 

This should be constantly kept in mind, in studying these campaigns. 
The movements in Virginia were strictly cooperative. They, too, 
were only a part; their aim and object are obscured, their greatness 
is not sufficiently apparent, if it is forgotten that Grant was at the 
same time directing operations all over the continent; that he thought 
it worth while to incur great risk here, because he thus withheld the 
rebels from reinforcing their armies a thousand miles away. For 
Sherman was by this means able to slowly penetrate into Georgia. 
By the time Grant had crossed the James, Sherman had driven John- 
ston back in battle and on the march as far as Kenesaw mountain, a 
distance of fifty miles, and Hunter had reached and invested Lynch- 
burg. So all the strings pulled by the master-hand were at work ; 
the complicated movements of the vast machine all went slowly but 
surely on. Some delay here and there occurred ; great difficulties often 
stood in the way ; but the work proceeded. At the end of what is 
called the Wilderness Campaign, Grant had reached the James river ; 
the other great armies of the Republic were also penetrating to the 
very interior of the rebel region; the practical concentration that had 
been aimed at was being effected ; the rebels were losing heart and 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 93 

men and resources, as well as ground, all of which could never be 
regained ; and though the price that had been paid was great, not 
otherwise or cheaper could the result have been obtained. Through 
fire and blood and suffering only are nations saved. Grant had every 
reason to be satisfied that his plans had proceeded thus far to their 
consummation. The enemy felt certainly that the toils were being 
drawn closer on every side; that their new antagonist was a master; 
that unity of action and clearness of design and energy of effort had 
succeeded to distraction, and indecision, and spasmodic struggles on 
the part of the Union. So far, the nation had great cause for grati- 
tude to God and its armies, and to him who, under God, was the leader 
of those armies. 

Before Grant began to remove the Army of the Potomac to the 
southern side of the James, he dispatched Sheridan, as has been seen, 
upon another of those raiding expeditions which formed so important 
a part of his plan. It was his constant aim to destroy the communi- 
cations of the enemy, and this was especially necessary to be clone on 
the north side of Richmond, at the moment when Grant was planning 
to remove his own army to the southern side. He wanted to make it 
impossible for Lee either to draw any supplies of consequence from 
the region north of the James, or to have such use of the railroads 
running towards Washington as would enable him to threaten the 
national capital. Sheridan, therefore, had been sent to destroy the 
Virginia Central railroad, at the same time that Hunter had been 
moved south from Winchester, on the route that Sigel had attempted 
at the outset of the campaign. The region where Hunter was to ope- 
rate is known as the Valley of Virginia, and is one of the most fertile 
spots in the Union. It had furnished supplies of vast importance to 
the rebels all through the war, and was the only really important 
source yet left open to Lee on the north side of Richmond. Grant 
planned for Sheridan and Hunter to advance towards each other, from 
opposite directions, doing all the destruction possible to railroads, 
canals, and crops, and forming a junction in the heart of the fruitful 
region. After the work laid out for them was thoroughly done, they 
were to join the Army of the Potomac; either making a circuit in the 
rear of Lee, or returning by Sheridan's route, as should seem most 
advisablo at the time. 

It should be constantly borne in mind, that all these raiding move- 
ments were ventures, and looked upon as such by Grant. They were 
attempts, at great risk, to accomplish certain objects: the destruction 



94 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

of certain stores, or resources, or communications; if that destruction 
was consummated, even at the sacrifice of the command which accom- 
plished it, the raid was a success. It was often worth while to pay 
the price of the utter capture of a small command for the sake of 
securing some definite object; just as, in the capture of a town by 
assault, the forlorn hope which attacks is almost certain to be lost; 
but it is better and more humane to lose a small command in a single 
assault, than to waste away a large one in a protracted siege or a series 
of ineffective movements. The difference is, that in these raids, the 
command, if lost, was probably only captured, not killed. 

These remarks have no peculiar application to the movement of 
Hunter or Sheridan; neither force was captured or annihilated; each 
accomplished the particular duty for which it was dispatched. Hun- 
ter drove the enemy in his front, occupied temporarily nearly all the 
Valley of Virginia, fought a battle in which he carried everything be- 
fore him, while Sheridan moved up in the same direction, though from 
a different starting-point, doing great damage to railroads and crops. 
But Hunter thought it advisable to move westward instead of towards 
Sheridan, as had been planned and ordered; so the junction was not 
formed, and Sheridan, meeting with greater opposition than his force 
alone was able to overcome, returned to Grant, while Hunter marched 
direct on Lynchburg, a place of the greatest importance in the rear of 
Richmond. Lee at once perceived the necessity of retaining Lynchburg, 
and dispatched a large force, under Early, to oppose Hunter. Grant 
had not hoped that Hunter, without Sheridan, would be able to capture 
Lynchburg, which, being on the Chattanooga railroad, must of neces- 
sity be vigorously defended by Lee; but Hunter had been so success- 
ful thus far, that he made the attempt. Lee, however, having, as usual, 
a greatly shorter line, threw a force into Lynchburg before Hunter 
reached it; and Hunter, getting short of ammunition, was obliged to 
retire. He had now no choice of routes, but was obliged to return 
north by way of the Kanawha valley; and this occupied him several 
weeks, during which the region that it was intended he should cover 
was necessarily left exposed 

PETERSBURG 

Unfortunately, all this happened at the very moment when Grant 
was making his movement across the James. Grant, not knowing of 
Hunter's change of plan, supposed of course that the latter was pro- 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 95 

tecting the Shenandoah valley; and proceeded with his movement to 
the south side. W. F. Smith, who was in command of the troops from 
Butler's army, was moved out in the night to White House, on the 
York river, where he took transports, which conveyed him by the 
Chesapeake bay and James river, to City Point and Bermuda Hundred. 
Butler, thus reinforced with his own troops, was to seize Petersburg, 
a point in the interior lying directly on the road to Richmond. It 
was impossible to advance farther up the James river than Bermuda 
Hundred, on account of the elaborate defences with which that stream 
was guarded. Grant, however, hoped to secure Petersburg by sur- 
prise, before the enemy could become aware* of his intention or fortify 
the place. Smith moved with great secrecy and celerity, and mean- 
while Grant had directed the laying of a pontoon-bridge over the 
James, by which the Army of the Potomac was to cross. The bridge 
was laid some twenty miles from Petersburg, which is on the Appo- 
mattox, about ten miles in a direct line from the James. The idea 
was for Smith, who went on transports, to advance rapidly and seize 
Petersburg, while the Army of the Potomac would cross by the bridge 
and march up at once to his support. Smith reached Petersburg early 
on the 15th of June, but did not assault until sundown ; he then 
attacked with a part of his force, and carried a portion of the rebel 
lines with ease, capturing fifteen cannon and three hundred prisoners 
by seven o'clock p. m. Meanwhile, the advance of the Army of the 
Potomac had been hurried across the James, extraordinary exertions 
had been made to supply it with rations, and it was pushed rapidly 
forward to the support of Smith. Hancock was in command of this 
advance. He reached Petersburg before dark, and, being the senior 
officer, was entitled to command. As Smith, however, had already 
gained so great advantages, Hancock waived his rank and offered his 
troops to Smith, to be used as that officer should desire. Smith, how- 
ever, thought he had accomplished enough, and although it was a 
bright moonlight night, and there were no indications that the rebels 
were reinforced, he did not push the assault. In the night the enemy 
discovered Grant's withdrawal from the north side and the attack on 
Petersburg, and before morning Lee was in force in front of Hancock 
and Smith. Afjain he had the shorter line. 

Grant, meanwhile, had been superintending and expediting the 
crossing of the Army of the Potomac, and, early on the 16th, rode up 
to Smith's lines, hoping to find him in possession of Petersburg; for 
there had been ample time, opportunity, and force. But he found the 



96 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

enemy fortifying, Smith occupying an outer line, with Lee in strength 
behind the rebel works, and it was not till evening that the Army of 
the Potomac was up in sufficient force to assault the now increased 
strength of the enemy. Attacks were made on the 16th, 17th, and 
18th, and important positions gained; but the enemy could not be 
dislodged from his interior line. It was the old story over: Lee had 
the advantage of the defence, he threw up his breastworks, and it 
required twice as many men as Grant had to carry them. 

Disappointed (through the inefficiency of Smith) in his hopes of 
seizing the town, Grant now determined to envelope Petersburg, not 
attacking fortifications again, but extending his line as far as possible 
towards two of the railroads, so important to Richmond, and which both 
passed through Petersburg. Lee, of course, perceived this change in 
Grant's tactics, and, as Hunter was at this time advancing against 
Lynchburg, the rebels were able to send off a corps with safety to 
repel Hunter. This accordingly was done. 

But Grant was not idle, although he had determined to cease assault- 
ing Petersburg. His aim was to reach the South-Side road, and he 
dispatched two small divisions of cavalry, under Wilson, to strike that 
road at a distance of fifteen miles from Petersburg. Wilson reached 
the road, and destroyed it for a distance of many miles, doing serious 
damage to the enemy's communications; but, in his return, he was 
intercepted by a force sent out by Lee to pursue him. He divided his 
command and endeavored to avoid the enemy, but was foiled in the 
attempt, and only succeeded in rejoining the Army of the Potomac 
with the loss of all his guns and trains. This expedition, however, 
illustrates the remark made above in relation to raids. Though the 
command suffered more than any similar expedition during the war, 
the damage it inflicted on the enemy fully compensated for the loss 
sustained. 

Meanwhile, Grant had effected a lodgement on the north side of the 
James, at a point called Deep Bottom, some miles nearer to Richmond 
than City Point; and, on the 26th of July, he moved a large force to 
that place, crossing the James by a pontoon-bridge above Bermuda 
Hundred. The object of this move was, if possible, to cut again the 
enemy's railroads on the north side; or, if it should seem more desira- 
ble, to take advantage of the withdrawal of the enemy's troops from 
before Petersburg, which this demonstration on the north side would 
necessitate, and explode a mine which had been dug under the rebel 
lines at Petersburg. The enemy moved in so large force to oppose the 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 97 

Operation from Deep Bottom, that Grant at once determined to explode 
the mine, and assault the works at Petersburg. lie moved back a 
corps of troops from the north to the south side in the night, and, on 
the morning of the 30th of July, the mine was sprung, creating great 
consternation in the rebel ranks, and forming a gaping crater in the 
midst of their fortifications. Arrangements had been made, and 
orders issued, for the troops to rush in at once after the explosion, and 
this was promptly done; but those who were to push on in support 
were so long in getting to the place of action, that the enemy rallied 
from his surprise, and brought up forces to the defence. As the 
captured line was thus rendered untenable, and of itself was of no 
advantage, Grant withdrew his troops. The assault had been skill- 
fully planned, the strategy which drew Lee to the north side of the 
James was a master-piece of military genius, but the inefficiency of 
one of the subordinates converted what should have been absolute 
success into defeat. There was no good reason why Petersburg should 
not have been carried on this day. 

EARLY. 

Lee was an astute soldier, and as soon as he discovered that Hunter 
was retreating westward from Lynchburg, and that, in consequence, the 
Shenandoah valley was left open and Washington uncovered, he deter 
mined to avail himself of this opportunity. This opportunity was in 
nowise created by Grant. All of that officer's plans and orders con- 
templated the complete protection of Washington. The overland route 
from the Rapidan had been selected by him in great part with a view 
to affording this protection, and the campaign of Sigel was planned 
especially for this purpose, and to close the avenue which the Shenan- 
doah valley would otherwise offer. The movements of the Wilderness 
campaign, the constant retreat of Lee, and the advance of Grant after 
every battle, effected this object; and, up to the moment when Grant 
crossed the James, there had been no occasion for apprehension in 
regard to the national capital. Nor was the movement to the south 
side, as planned by Grant, at all in contravention of his original pur- 
pose. Hunter's movement up the Shenandoah, and Sheridan's coop- 
erative march towards Charlottesville, where the junction was to be 
effected, were ordered with the express view of destroying the communi- 
cations north of Richmond, and making it impossible for Lee to throw 
any large force in the direction of the Potomac. But Hunter moved 
7 



98 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT 

on Lexington instead of towards Charlottesville, and Sheridan's force 
was too small to be risked there alone; so Sheridan, after doing a 
good work of destruction, returned to Grant, while Hunter, being 
repelled from Lynchburg, and compelled to fall back westward instead 
of to the north, left the route to Washington by the valley entirely 
open to Lee. Hunter, it is true, had accomplished much in the valley 
before he quitted it; but, upon his leaving it, the highway was clear. 
Lee was too wary not to perceive and avail himself of the chance. 

Thus, before Grant could learn the fate of Hunter, the rebel chief 
dispatched the corps which had been sent to the defence of Lynchburg 
into the Shenandoah valley. The command, now increased, was under 
Early, and moved rapidly down the valley, reaching the neighborhood 
of Maryland by the 1st of July. Great alarm was immediately felt 
at the national capital. The Government had relied so exclusively on 
Grant, that, he being absent in front of Petersburg, all its action 
seemed paralyzed. He was urged in the most vehement manner to 
move his army at once from the James back to the Potomac, and 
abandon all the advantages he had gained through the two months of 
fighting and marching, in order to save the capital. He, however, 
had no idea of doing this. He felt that he had his hand at the throat 
of the rebellion, and he meant never to let go his grasp. He saw 
how vastly more important it was for him to maintain his army at the 
vital military point; and he had the genius to perceive that point, as 
well as the courage to do as he thought right, in spite of entreaties 
and advice from soldiers and civilians of place and reputation at the 
rear. 

But he still had no notion of losing Washington. He dispatched, 
first one division, and then two more, of the Sixth corps, to the defence 
of the region near the Potomac ; he sent orders to the officials at 
Washington to gather up all the forces in that neighborhood, at Balti- 
more, and in the garrison of the capital ; and at last sent the Nineteenth 
corps, which he had ordered from Banks, when he became convinced 
that nothing effective against Mobile could be done with the command 
of that officer during this campaign. This corps, arriving North at 
this crisis, to join the forces on the James, was immediately ordered 
by Grant to Washington ; so that, before the rebel force had reached 
that city, the Union strength was sufficient to defend it. Reinforce- 
ments came in rapidly from these various quarters, and Grant 
telegraphed for General Wright, who commanded the Sixth corps, to be 
placed at the head of all the troops for the defence of Washington ; 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 99 

and directed that officer to move at once on the offensive against Early. 
Wright obeyed promptly, and Early was driven back into the valley. 
Hunter now arrived, after his circuitous return from West Virginia, 
and joined Wright at the entrance of the valley; he was the ranking 
officer and, took command. 

Thus Lee's plan of forcing Grant to abandon Richmond, for the sake 
of saving Washington, was entirely defeated. It had been a skillful 
move on the military chessboard, and, with many other generals to 
deal with, would have succeeded ; but Grant never wavered for a 
moment. He had no more idea of abandoning the goal at which he 
was aiming, on account of any such distraction as Early's campaign, 
than he had of returning to Washington after the battle of the Wil- 
derness. He knew what was his real object, and he suffered nothing 
to divert his attention. Still, he was able to carry on a manifold 
campaign. Because he chose to direct his principal strength against 
a certain point, was no reason why he should not control all the sub- 
ordinate movements, which were to tend to the same object, through 
different channels. He could drive four-in-hand, even when the team 
was "balky." 

SHERIDAN 

It was plain, however, at this time, that the rebels meant to continue 
to threaten Washington. They had temporarily annoyed Grant by this 
valley movement, and they were determined to persist in it ; as, in 
in consequence of the addition to their strength, which the fortifica- 
tions of Petersburg afforded, they were able to afford the subtraction 
of enough men to cfeate a serious distracting element in Grant's cam- 
paign near home. This seemed like good policy, and would have been 
good, had not Grant been Grant. As it was, Lee annoyed his antago- 
nist considerably for a while, until the Union commander became 
provoked, and finally turned and dealt a blow to the rebels from which 
they never recovered. The weapon with which he dealt the blow was 
Sheridan. 

The confusion, and mismanagement, and alarm around Washington, 
during all these movements, had convinced Grant that there existed 
the same necessity for one supreme commander of all the forces in the 
neighborhood of the capital, which had been felt for a chief of all the 
armies, until he himself became lieutenant general. He determined 
that the four departments of West Virginia, Washington, Susquehan- 
nah, and the Middle Department must be consolidated, and that a 



100 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

capable soldier must be placed at the head of them, who could be 
allowed sufficient independence of action and discretion to secure suc- 
cess in his movements, but who at the same time must be really subor- 
dinate, and willing to make the movements of his command thoroughly 
cooperative with those more important ones of the army in front of 
Lee. Grant, therefore, visited Washington in person, informed the 
Government of his views, to which they immediately deferred, and 
then went forward to the valley to view the situation for himself, and 
determined what he wanted done, and by whom. He at once decided 
that the true course was to concentrate all the troops in that region, 
and push the enemy as far as possible. He, indeed, never believed in 
remaining on the defensive. Sheridan, as commander of the cavalry 
of the Army of the Potomac, had already displayed the characteris- 
tics, the splendid vigor, the persistency, the determination, the saga- 
city, and the moral courage which Grant required for the position he 
was now creating. He sent for Sheridan, who joined him at Monoca- 
cy, Maryland, and then placed in command the illustrious soldier who 
was destined to achieve immortality for himself in this new field, while 
adding to the laurels already so thick on the brows of Grant. Sheri- 
dan was directed, "Concentrate all your available force; and if it is 
found that the enemy has moved north of the Potomac in large force, 
push North, follow him, attack him, wherever he can be found. Fol- 
low him, if driven south of the Potomac, as long as i.t is safe to do so." 
Two divisions of his old cavalry were sent from the Army of the Poto- 
mac, to assist in carrying out these orders ; and he was informed, 
"In pushing up the Shenandoah valley, it is desirable that nothing 
should be left to invite the enemy to return. Take all provisions, 
forage, stock, wanted for the use of your command ; such as cannot be 
consumed, destroy. The people should be informed that so long as 
an army can subsist among them, recurrences of these raids must be 
expected, and we are determined to stop them at all hazards. Bear 
in mind the object is to drive the enemy south, and to do this you 
want to keep him always in sight. Be guided in your course by the 
course he takes." 

These orders contain a synopsis of Grant's entire military policy. 
They show that he believed in always taking the offensive, in concen- 
tration of troops and efforts, in "pushing," driving, following, attack- 
ing the enemy whenever he could be. found, in keeping him always in 
sight ; but that he was guided in his course by the course of the ene- 
my — rare sagacity in a general; and that when it became necessary, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 101 

he could be stern; that he knew modern war depends as much on the 
ability to supply armies as on the skill to wield them, and, in conse- 
quence, he always made war on the resources as well as on the troops 
of his enemy. 

Having established Sheridan in command, and given him his orders, 
the lieutenant general returned to City Point, to hurry up the cavalry 
which was to join the new commander. It was* more than a month 
before Sheridan could get his army ready to move, and the country, 
not knowing the man as Grant did, got anxious. Pennsylvania and 
Maryland seemed constantly threatened with invasion, and Grant paid 
Sheridan another visit, not being willing to give him a positive order 
to attack, until he should once more see for himself the exact situa- 
tion. This Sheridan explained, announced he couM move the moment 
he was ordered, and expressed every confidence of success. Grant 
declares that he saw there were but two words of instruction to give 
his subordinate — " Go in ;" in being, in military parlance, a condensed 
form for "into battle." Grant asked Sheridan if he could be ready 
by Tuesday, and the latter replied, " Before daylight on Monday." 
He did promptly what he promised, and Grant declared, "The result 
was such that I have never since deemed it necessary to visit General 
Sheridan before giving him orders." 

On the 19th of September, Sheridan attacked Early and defeated 
him with heavy loss, capturing several thousand prisoners. The enemy 
rallied at Fisher's Hill, and was attacked again, and again defeated 
on the 20th; Sheridan pursued him with great energy. On the 9th 
of October, still another battle occurred at Strasburg, when the rebels 
were a third time defeated, losing eleven pieces of artillery. On the 
night of the 18th, however, they returned and attacked Sheridan's 
command, from which he'was about twenty miles distant at the time; 
the national forces were driven back with loss, but finally rallied ; just 
it this moment Sheridan came upon the field, arranged his lines to 
receive a new attack of the enemy, and in his turn assumed the offen- 
sive, defeating the rebels with great slaughter, and the loss of their 
artillery, as well as all the trophies which had been captured in the 
morning. Pursuit was made to the head of the valley, and thus ended 
the last attempt of the rebels to invade the North. Their force in 
the valley was completely broken up, and never again assumed an 
organized independent form. Grant was thus able to bring back the 
Sixth corps to the Army of the Potomac, to send one division from 
Sheridan to the Army of the James, and another to Sherman. 



102 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 



SIEGE OF PETERSBURG. 

On the 13th of August, Grant, fearing that Lee, in order to sup- 
port Early, might be detaching from the army defending Petersburg, 
moved a large force to the north side of the James, so as to threaten 
Richmond from that quarter, and compel Lee to bring back any troops 
he might be sending to the valley. It was discovered that only a 
single division had been sent to Early ; but this movement had the 
effect of drawing a large rebel force from the defences of Petersburg, 
in order to resist the apprehended attack on Richmond. Grant at 
once determined to avail himself of this weakening of the rebel lines 
before Petersburg, and sent the Fifth corps to seize the Weldon rail- 
road, which, as yet, the rebels held, and by which they drew many of 
their most important supplies. A fierce battle ensued, with heavy 
losses on each side, but Grant gained possession of the road, and the 
most furious efforts of the enemy were insufficient to dislodge him. He 
never afterwards lost his hold of that important avenue of communi- 
cation between the rebel capital and the region farther South. On 
the contrary, he constructed a railroad from City Point to the Weldon 
road, and was thus able to transport his own supplies to the extreme 
left of his now extended front. 

Miles upon miles of fortifications now defended both Richmond and 
Petersburg, and the besiegers themselves had erected works as strong 
as those which they opposed. The extension of Grant beyond the 
Weldon road forced Lee also to reach out by his own right, or Grant 
would have overlapped him. This extension of Lee, it seemed, must 
weaken his force on the north side of the James; so Grant, on the 
29th of September, made an advance against the fortifications of Rich- 
mond. The strongest of all the defences of that city was carried by 
assault, but this was only one fort among many, and no other success 
was attained. The position was, however, so important and so far 
advanced, that Grant determined to maintain it. Butler's entire army 
was now moved to the north of the James, to remain there. Desperate 
attempts were made by the rebels to dislodge him, but all failed. 
Simultaneously with the capture of this position, afterwards known as 
Fort Harrison, Meade made a movement on the extreme left of the 
lines before Petersburg, with a view of attacking, if the enemy should 
be found materially weakened by a withdrawal of troops to Butler's 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 103 

front. Several fights occurred, but no result of significance, and 
Mead'* returned. 

On the 27th of October, another movement was made to the left, 
with the view of ascertaining whether it would be possible to overlap 
the enemy's right, and thus to reach the South-Side road, whose pos- 
session would at once secure the fall of Petersburg. This reconnois- 
sance, however, developed the fact, that the enemy's fortifications 
reached out certainly to within six miles of the South-Side road, if 
not farther, and, no opening for a successful assault presenting itself, 
Grant returned within his own lines. In making the return move- 
ment, Hancock was attacked, but immediately faced his corps about 
and drove the enemy, with slaughter, within their works. 

CO-OPERATION OF SHERMAN. 

Meanwhile, another portion of Grant's great scheme was proceed- 
ing under the skillful management of Sherman. That commander was 
able to prosecute his campaign without fear of interruption. He was 
certain that Grant would not intermit his operations, and that no sup- 
port from Lee would be allowed to come to Johnston at a critical mo- 
ment. He himself was cooperating constantly with Grant, prevent- 
ing Johnston from reinforcing Lee, and he had no fear that his com- 
mander would forget or neglect him. There was perfect harmony 
between the chief and his great lieutenant. So Sherman, moving from 
Chattanooga, on the 6th of May, had advanced in a series of skillful 
movements, somewhat similar to those of Grant in the Wilderness. 
The battles were not so fierce, the opposition not so obstinate, but the 
campaign reflected immense credit on Sherman and his army ; and on 
the 2d of September it was crowned with success. Atlanta, the first 
objective designated to Sherman by Grant, was captured, the result 
of the last of a series of flank movements, which will always be mem- 
orable in military history. Johnston had at first been Sherman's an- 
tagonist, but falling into disfavor with the rebel authorities at Rich- 
mond, he had, in July, been superseded by Hood, an officer of vastly 
less ability, but with a more reckless audacity. Hood assisted Sher- 
man materially by the unskillful character of his operations. 

That which afforded not only Sherman, but Thomas and even Grant, 
opportunity for the conception and execution of some of their finest 
designs, was a movement undertaken soon after the fall of Atlanta. 
Of this movement, however, it is believed that Jefferson Davis is 
entitled to some of the credit. Sherman, having driven Hood's army 



104 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

steadily back a hundred and fifty miles, and manoeuvred it out of 
Atlanta, the great railroad centre in Middle Georgia, Hood now 
thought that, depleted and disheartened as his soldiers were, he could 
assume the offensive against the force by which he had been so often 
defeated. Making a wide detour, he advanced to the right of Sher- 
man, and moved so as to strike the railroad in rear of the Union army, 
along which all its supplies were conveyed from Chattanooga. Hood's 
idea evidently was to interrupt all of Sherman's communications with 
the North, and thus isolate him in the interior of Georgia, and force 
him into a condition similar to that of Napoleon in his retreat from 
Moscow. Grant, as has been heretofore explained, had never intended 
to alkw Sherman to be placed in this predicament; but had intended 
him, after he arrived at Atlanta, to push on still farther, cutting loose 
from all communication, as Grant himself had done at Vicksburg, 
and striking for the sea, either at Mobile or Savannah, as might seem 
preferable. Mobile, it was expected, would be the point; and, with 
this view, Grant had early ordered Banks to attack and take Mobile, 
so that he might be ready to meet Sherman, when the latter pushed 
on in his interior march. 

As soon, however, as it was apparent to Sherman that Hood 
was attempting to interrupt the railroad line between Chattanooga 
and Atlanta — especially when he saw that this was to be done with 
an entire army — he proposed a modification of the plan to Grant. 
Grant had intended Sherman to hold the line from Chattanooga to 
Atlanta, but to cut loose entirely from the latter place; Sherman 
suggested the destruction of Atlanta, and the entire abandonment of 
the line from Atlanta to Chattanooga. Grant thought that, in this 
event, Hood would strike for the North, and that even now he was 
aiming at Middle Tennessee, while Sherman "would meet none but 
old men, little boys, and railroad guards in his march through 
Georgia;" but Sherman was positive that Hood would be forced to 
turn and follow him. He thought Thomas, who was now in command 
of Tennessee, would have no important enemy there. Grant still 
insisted that Hood would avail himself of Sherman's absence to at- 
tack Thomas; but, after considering the matter a day, he, sent the 
required permission to Sherman, determining to collect reinforcements 
so rapidly for Thomas, that that officer should be able to withstand 
any rebel force which might be sent against him. The Government 
was strongly in doubt about this whole movement, and even after 
Grant had given Sherman authority for it, the general-in-chief was. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 105 

telegraphed to reconsider once more. The Administration would not 
take the responsibility of prohibiting any military operation that 
Grant ordered, but it was anxious to show him how the movement 
was regarded at Washington. Grant, however, having once deter- 
mined, was firm. He believed that Sherman would meet with no. 
serious opposition, and that the moral effect of his march through the 
interior of the enemy's country, cutting the would-be Confederacy in 
two again, as had been done when the Mississippi was opened, would 
be prodigious. So the orders were not revoked, and Sherman began 
his preparations for the famous "march to the sea." 

On the 14th of November, he had concentrated all the troops 
that Grant gave him for his movement, about seventy thousand men, 
at Atlanta. He would be obliged to subsist almost exclusively off of 
the enemy's country during his campaign, so that even an inferior 
force might compel him to head for such a point as he could reach, 
instead of one that he might prefer. No definite place where he was 
to come out was therefore fixed, but it was probable that it would be 
at Savannah or Mobile. Atlanta and its fortifications were now de- 
stroyed, and two corps of Sherman's army being sent back to reinforce 
Thomas, the railroad between Chattanooga and Atlanta was aban- 
doned. Sherman was thus isolated, and started on his novel march. 
His condition was in many respects similar to Grant's after crossing 
the Mississippi, in the Vicksburg campaign, except in these two im- 
portant particulars: Sherman's army was twice as large as Grant's 
had been, and Sherman had no enemy in his front, while Grant 
plunged in between two hostile armies, one of them greatly larger 
than his own. 

thomas's campaign. 

Grant now bent all his faculties to the task of preparing Thomas 
to defend himself against Hood, who, as the general-in-chief had fore- 
seen, persisted in his northward and offensive campaign into Tennes- 
see, leaving the South altogether open, and Sherman free to choose his 
route. "Had I had the power to command both armies," said Grant, 
"IshoulcUnot have changed the orders under which Hood seemed 
to be acting." Every effort was made to reinforce Thomas before the 
rebel army could reach him; troops were withdrawn from Rosecranz, 
in Missouri, from A. J. Smith, who had belonged to the Red river 
expedition, under Banks, and recruits and men on furlough were hur- 
ried along every railroad from the North. By dint of immense exer- 



106 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

tions Thomas was reinforced sufficiently to be out of any extraordinary 
danger; and, although he fell back slowly before the advance of the 
enemy, he managed to detain the rebels till the 30th of November, 
at Franklin, where the main force of the Union army was posted, 
under Schofield, Thomas himself having fallen back still farther, to 
Nashville. Here the rebels attacked Schofield repeatedly, but were in 
every instance repulsed, losing one thousand seven hundred and fifty 
killed, seven hundred and two prisoners, and three thousand eight 
hundred wounded. Schofield's entire loss was only two thousand 
three hundred. During the night, under Thomas's orders, Schofield 
fell back to Nashville. This was solely in order to concentrate 
Thomas's whole force. 

On the 15th of December, Hood, having approached still nearer to 
Nashville, Thomas attacked him, and, in a battle lasting two days, 
defeated and drove him from the field in utter confusion. Most of the 
rebel artillery, and many thousand prisoners, fell into the hands of 
Thomas. The enemy retreated at once, but was closely pursued with 
cavalry and infantry to the Tennessee, abandoning most of his artil- 
lery and transportation on the way. His army was almost completely 
annihilated. 

CO-OPERATION ALL OVER THE CONTINENT. 

Meanwhile, a combined naval and military expedition, planned by 
Grant against Fort Fisher the defence of Wilmington, at the mouth 
of the Cape Fear river, after meeting with various delays and hin- 
drances, was crowned with complete success. This was a triumph oi 
the utmost consequence. Wilmington was the last remaining place 
on the seacoast where the blockade maintained by the navy was inef- 
fectual, and through this port supplies of inestimable value reached 
the interior. When this place was captured, the rebels were indeed 
shut in from the outside world ; and the ever-contracting coils seemed 
folding closer and closer around the doomed and guilty disturbers oi 
their country's peace. 

Sherman had penetrated to Savannah by Christmas day,jiot a fort- 
night after the success of Thomas at Nashville. As Grant had 
foreseen, and foretold, he met no opposition of importance on the 
route; no battle was fought, and, in the occasional skirmishes with a 
small body of cavalry that hovered about his flanks, his outguards 
lost only a few hundred men. The campaign was one great excursion. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 107 

The country was found to be still abundant in supplies, though the 
railroads could no longer carry its productions to the armies at the 
rebel front. Sherman destroyed the railroads, the arsenals, bridges, 
and crops, everywhere on the route, and marked his course with a 
broad swath of ruin forty miles across. He reached the outworks of 
Savannah in five weeks after he had started, captured a fort that pro- 
tected it without much difficulty, and was met at Savannah by fresh 
instructions from Grant, directing his future movements. 

His march had been unique and interesting in the extreme. Cer- 
tainly no great army ever marched before so far through an enemy's 
country and encountered so little opposition. Grant had heard of 
him by spies and deserters and through the rebel newspapers. He 
had been able to follow his march on the maps with very little anxiety, 
and had felt not half the solicitude for Sherman that the danger in 
which Thomas had been placed occasioned. He had actually started 
for Nashville, when the news of Thomas's brilliant success met him on 
the way, and relieved his fears. 

Thomas had so completely placed Hood's army hors du combat, that 
Grant determined to find other fields of operation for his surplus 
troops. Some were sent to Canby, who had superseded Banks, and 
was ordered to organize the expedition against Mobile, which Grant 
had contemplated the year before; Schofield, with his entire corps, 
was ordered to be sent East, and the remainder of Thomas's available 
command was to be collected at Eastport, on the Tennessee. Scho- 
field's movement, in the dead of winter, was difficult and painful in 
the extreme. On the 23d of January, his corps arrived at Washing- 
ton, coming by rail through the snows and mountains of the Baltimore 
and Ohio road ; then it was dispatched to Annapolis, to wait till the 
ice in Chesapeake bay would allow its transportation to the sea; for 
Grant intended to send Schofield into North Carolina to coboperate 
with Sherman. 

The lieutenant general had at first thought to bring Sherman by 
sea from Savannah to City Point, and there, with the two great armies 
of the East and the West, to overwhelm the last remaining stronghold 
and army of the rebellion. Orders to this effect reached Sherman 
before he arrived at Savannah. He answered promptly that ho had 
expected to march by land through the Carolinas, and thus join 
Grant, but that it would be at least six weeks after the fall of Savan- 
nah before he could reach Raleigh, in North Carolina ; whereas by 
sea he could join Grant by the middle of January. He, therefore, 



108 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

began at once his preparations to obey Grant's orders. Grant, how- 
ever, had before this discovered that the difficulty of procuring ocean 
transportation for a whole army would be prodigious, and he was, 
besides, pleased with Sherman's confidence of being able to march 
through the Carolinas. He, therefore, dispatched directions, on the 
23th of December, for Sherman to start by land without delay, and 
march northward, through North and .South Carolina, breaking up the 
railroads everywhere. This campaign was likely to be vastly more 
difficult and hazardous than that which Sherman had already accom- 
plished, for now he would meet an enemy. There were still hostile 
troops on the seacoast south of Richmond, all of whom would be 
collected to oppose him, and Grant feared lest the remnants of Hood's 
army might be brought across from Mississippi, as a forlorn hope, in 
the last battles of the rebellion. 

Accordingly, Schofield, with twenty-one thousand men, was sent to 
North Carolina, and instructed to take command of twelve thousand 
more, already there, at Newbern and Fort Fisher. He was then to 
move into the interior of the State, striking for Goldsboro, in order to 
reach Sherman at that point, as the latter should be coming North, 
and to furnish him with a new base of supplies. A vast accumulation 
of stores was also directed to be ready for the Western army when it 
should reach Goldsboro. Schofield captured Wilmington, and, after 
several skirmishes, which in any other war would be called battles, he 
reached a point ten miles from Cox's bridge, near Goldsboro, on the 
22d of March, 1865. 

Sherman left Savannah on the 1st of February, caused the evacua- 
tion of Charleston, seized Columbia, had a battle at Averysville, in 
which he was successful, and another at Bentonsville, where he en- 
countered Johnston, wl ' ^1 been recently put in command of all the 
rebels that could be collected east of the Mississippi, and who were 
not under arms at Richmond. The engagement was no t decisive, but 
Johnson retreated, and Sherman followed, till, on the 22d of March, 
he also arrived at Cox's bridge, which Schofield reached the same 
day, coming from the sea. Thus, one of the most wonderful pieces 
of military combination that the world has ever seen, was accom- 
plished under the orders, and according to the plans and instructions 
of Grant. A little more than four months previous, the general-in- 
chief had taken Schofield from Sherman's moving column, and ordered 
him back to the support of Thomas, in Tennessee. At the same time 
that he brought Scnofield north from Atlanta, he sent Sherman south 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 109 

into the inmost penetralia of the rebellion. The latter had reached 
the Atlantic, and then marched north, capturing cities and fighting 
enemies all through the balmy region of the Carolinas. Schofield had 
fought and -won the batte of Franklin, had borne a distinguished part 
in the battle of Nashville, and then brought his corps through snows 
and ice across the continent in mid-winter, to the Atlantic coast, sailed 
to North Carolina, captured Wilmington, and advanced into the inte- 
rior of the State, to rejoin and support his old commander. Between 
them, they had nearly traversed the whole interior region in rebel- 
lion. Each arrived on the same day at Goldsboro, having traversed 
thousands of miles. No general ever conceived or executed such a 
combination as this, prior to Grant, and yet you shall hear ignorant 
or hostile critics tell us that his success is owing; to luck. The ma^- 
nificent scale of his operations; the closeness with which he followed 
and directed them all; the complicated nature of his various evolutions 
under a dozen different commanders; the marvellous skill with which 
he was able to make Sherman march south and Schofield north ; to 
get reinforcements to Thomas from Cauby and Rosecranz, at the crit- 
ical moment, so as to secure the great triumph of the battle of Nash- 
ville; to capture Fort Fisher and Wilmington, although at extraordinary 
risk and after peculiar difficulties, just in time for those captures to 
afford immense assistance to other schemes; subsequently, to brinor 
Sherman north and to send Schofield south; while, all the while, he 
himself was holding the main force and greatest army of the rebellion, 
not only at bay, but in terror for its existence — this fact alone ren- 
dering all the operations of his subordinates possible; — all this maybe 
luck, but it is such luck as never followed any soldier before in his- 
tory ; it is such luck as it is greatly to be desired shall always attend 
the armies of the Republic; it is such luck as nations have always 
recognized, securing for themselves the advantages it brings, by 
placing its possessors in civil as well as military power. If the same 
luck will only attend the administration of President Grant, which 
marked his career as general-in-chief, the country will be satisfied. 

One beautiful and magnanimous trait of Grant deserves to be chron- 
icled here. While he assigned to his subordinates all these brilliant 
and important parts of his plans, and retained for himself not only 
the most difficult, but the least inspiring of all, he never manifested a 
particle of jealousy at the reputation which he enabled Sherman, and 
Sheridan, and Thomas, and Schofield, and Terry to acquire. Not only 
did he urge upon the Government the promotion of those officers, as 



110 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

well as of Meade, but he sought every other means to bring them into 
notice. His wonderful sagacity was manifest in detecting not only 
.their ability, when nobody else perceived it, but in recognizing the 
peculiar quality of each man's talent; the original genius of Sherman, 
which fitted him for the great march; the brilliant vigor of Sheridan, 
which enabled him to conquer Early; the splendid determination of 
Thomas, which alone retarded Hood until the hour had come for his 
annihilation; the sagacity of Schofield, the talent of Terry. But, more 
than all this, when he had lain many weary months in front of Peters- 
burg, making movements all of which tended gradually to his eventual- 
success, but none of which resulted so immediately in what the coun- 
try desired as to be recognized by the country; while he was in 
reality conceiving and inspiring and directing every one of his great 
subordinates, he never sought to take from them an atom of their own 
glory; nor even when the ignorant bestowed on the executor all the 
praise, did the conceiver and controller attempt to attribute to him- 
self his own. He was calm, patient, unselfish, magnanimous. He 
was not anxious for fame, but for the salvation of the country. When 
Sherman penetrated to the Atlantic coast, and accomplished his won- 
derful march, Grant, who had conceived the idea of that march, and 
taken all of its responsibility, was still sitting quietly in front of 
Petersburg; and the country rang with applause for the brilliant lieu- 
tenant, affording no share of this to the chief who had sent the lieuten- 
ant on his errand, and by his other movements, a thousand miles away, 
had rendered the success of the lieutenant possible. It was even 
proposed in Congress to place Sherman in the rank which Grant 
enjoyed. Sherman wrote on the subject at once to Grant, saying that 
the proposition was without his knowledge, and begging Grant to use 
his influence against it. This, of course, Grant refused to do, and 
replied to Sherman, "If you are put above me, I shall ahvays obey 
you, just as you always have me." The history of the world may be 
searched in vain to find a parallel of magnanimity, friendship, and 
patriotism. 

In January, 1865, foreseeing the approaching termination of the 
war, and anxious to make the downfall of the rebellion complete, 
Grant directed Thomas to send out several expeditions into the region 
between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, in order to accomplish 
the destruction of all the remaining resources and communications of 
the enemy. Stoneman was sent from East Tennessee into South Caro- 
lina, to attract all attention from Sherman in his northward march, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. Ill 

and "Wilson was to be ordered into central Alabama, which was now 
entirely exposed and unprotected. Canby also, who was in command 
of everything in the region of the extreme southwest, was directed to 
organize an expedition against Mobile, and Sheridan received orders 
to move from the valley towards Lynchburg, in the rear of Lee, so as 
to destroy every possible means by which the last of the great rebel 
armies could draw their supplies. Thus, from every direction, raids 
were being made at and into the vitals of the rebellion, while Grant 
still held the main army in his front unable to attack him, but equally 
unable to move to the protection of the threatened points. His plans 
had annihilated all of the resources of the enemy; his subordinates 
had attacked all the important outside points, his movements had con- 
quered all the rebel armies but one, and now he was ready to deal the 
death-blow for which he and the nation had been waiting so long. 
Now, at last, the country began to perceive the consummate nature of 
his strategy; now it began to recognize the master in the movements 
of his subordinates; now it detected the unity of his plans, discover- 
ing that Sherman and Sheridan and Schofield and Thomas were moving 
towards one centre, and that that centre was Grant; that they were 
all inspired by one mind, and that that mind was Grant's. The rebels, 
also, too plainly saw and felt, for the first time, that they had a mas- 
ter ; they turned and writhed, they showed a bold front, but they were 
aware that the hour had come, that their schemes had been met by 
counter schemes; that they were outgeneralled, outmanoeuvred, out- 
marched, outfought, outwitted, conquered, although the final blow was 
not yet struck. 

In March, Grant ordered Sherman, who had now reached Goldsboro, 
to come in person to City Point, and receive verbal instructions. Be- 
fore Sherman arrived, Sheridan had completely destroyed all the canals 
and railroads to the northwest of Lee, and was ordered to bring his 
whole force to Grant, who now directed Sherman to prevent any con- 
centration between Lee and Johnston, and to be ready to come to the 
support of Grant, if the latter should so instruct. Sherman spent a 
day at City Point, and returned to his command. 

On the 29th of March, Sheridan having arrived in front of Peters- 
burg, Grant began the final campaign of the war. On the 25th, 
Lee had made an assault on Grant's lines, which must have been a 
mere frantic stroke, such as a dying beast gives in the arena, with no 
hope of success, but simply to glut its rage. It was promptly repelled, 
the enemy losing heavily in killed and wounded, and Grant capturing 



112 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

two thousand prisoners. Grant immediately took advantage of this, 
and made a counter advance on the left, which was successful, nearly 
a thousand more rebels being captured, and many others killed and 
wounded, and a portion of Lee's line taken and held. Grant had been 
extremely anxious for months lest the enemy should withdraw from 
Richmond and Petersburg. He was unwilling to move in attack with 
the Army of the Potomac until his great plans for the entire continent 
should be further consummated ; until Sherman and Schofield could 
be brought so near, on their converging lines, that Lee could have no 
chance of escape, even if he attempted it ; but now all things were 
ripened, every command was in its right place; from all directions he 
had brought his armies, and, on the 29th of March, he moved. 

Leaving a force of twenty or thirty thousand in the lines in front 
of Petersburg and Richmond, he extended his left with the view of 
overlapping the rebel right and seizing the South-Side road. His 
moving force now was between ninety thousand and one hundred thou- 
sand strong. Lee still, by superhuman exertions, had collected seventy 
thousand men, besides the local militia of Richmond, and the gunboat 
crews on the James, which, together, amounted to at least five thou- 
sand more, and Avhich were always put into a fight by the rebel gen- 
eral. Grant left so large a force in front of the rebel works, in order 
that, if the enemy should be induced to come out ami attack the national 
column while in motion, the troops in the trenches might be pushed at 
once and without further orders against the fortifications in their fronts. 
Sheridan, Grant detached and sent to the extreme left, to be ready to 
cut and cross the two southern railroads which Lee still retained; the 
South-Side and the Danville. With the remainder of his force, Grant 
then moved to the left for the last time, and began to feel the enemy. 
He soon discovered that Lee was still confronting him at every point, 
and conceived, therefore, that the rebel line must be weakly held. He 
determined, in consequence, to move no farther out, but to send a 
corps of infantry to Sheridan, who was still on the extreme left, so 
that he might turn the enemy's right flank, while with the rest of the 
force Grant would order a direct assault on the rebel line. Meantime, 
Lee had not yet lost all spirit ; he hoped still to gain some advantage, 
under cover of which he could join Johnston, when the two armies 
might perhaps be able to make a campaign against Grant's united forces 
in the interior. Accordingly, one or two feeble attacks were made by 
Lee, but immediately repelled with loss. In these various operations, 
Sheridan was separated from Grant's left, with a view to making the 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 113 

contemplated flank attack on Lee; and the rebel commander discov- 
ering this, immediately reinforced his own right largely, and moved 
against Sheridan. And now Sheridan displayed great generalship. 
Instead of retreating upon Grant with his whole command, to tell the 
story of having encountered superior force, he deployed his cavalry 
on foot, leaving mounted men only to take charge of the horses. This 
skillful ruse compelled the enemy also to deploy over a vast extent of 
woods and broken country, and made his progress slow. Sheridan 
now informed Grant of what had taken place, and Grant promptly 
reinforced him with the Fifth corps. On the 1st of April, thus rein- 
forced, Sheridan attacked Lee's right at Five Forks, assaulted and 
carried the fortified position of the enemy, capturing all his artillery, 
and between five thousand and six thousand prisoners. The defeat 
was decisive. The rebels fled in every direction, and the bulk of the 
force that had been in front of Sheridan never was able again to rejoin 
Lee. 

News of the victory reached Grant at nine o'clock in the evening. 
He at once determined that the hour had come for the final assault. 
Without consulting any one, he wrote a dispatch to Meade, ordering 
an attack at midnight, all along the lines in front of Petersburg, which 
were at least ten miles long. When one remembers the numerous 
assaults upon fortified places that had been made during the war, and 
their frequently disastrous results ; the immense strength of the 
works of Petersburg, which the rebels had now been nearly a year in 
elaborating, and whose terrible excellence Grant had tested so often ; 
the prejudice in the country against such assaults, and the possibility 
of repulse ; how much was at stake at this crisis, of life and fame; 
how, perhaps, the very termination of the war might depend on the 
success of this assault; — the moral courage of the man who ordered it 
can be better appreciated. But his courage never failed when his 
judgment was decided. He had been able to wait patiently through 
the long and tedious months of the siege, to withstand the impatience 
of the country, the entreaties of the Government, the weariness of the 
soldiers, and, perhaps, the promptings of ambition — all of which 
required fortitude of the most determined sort; but now he was to 
evince that species of courage which amounts to audacity, and which, 
when successful, becomes sublime. As soon as he was certain of 
Sheridan's complete success, he was also certain of what he himself 
wanted to do. With an intuition of both intellect and of feeling, he 
saw that the opportunity had arrived, an 1 was confident that his 



114 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

men would be as much inspired by the victory at Five Forks as the 
rebels must be disheartened. He had no fears that the famous lines 
would not be carried at last. The news of Five Forks was sent all 
along the army, night though it was, and preparations were made for 
the assault. The corps commanders, however, could not be ready 
until dawn, and it was therefore postponed to that time. Before day- 
light a prodigious bombardment was begun, and at four o'clock the 
various columns moved to the assault. Grant's calculations were cor- 
rect; the rebel works were carried in three different places. Lee's 
army was cut in two or three parts; many instantly fled across the 
Appomattox, while the main portion retreated into the city of Peters- 
burg, which was still defended by an inner line. Grant got his men up 
from the extended field which they now occupied, and pursued the 
rebels into the town ; several thousand prisoners and many guns were 
taken before dark. 

That night the enemy evacuated Petersburg and Richmond, flying 
southwest towards Danville. So the goal that our armies had been 
four years seeking to attain was won. Grant did not wait a moment, 
but, without entering Richmond in person, pushed on in pursuit at day- 
light, on the 3d, leaving to a subordinate the glory of seizing the 
capital of Virginia. The energy with which he now followed the un- 
happy Lee was terrific ; he disposed his columns on two roads, and 
marched with marvellous speed. Sheridan, Ord, Meade, vied with 
each other in their efforts to overtake and annihilate the last fighting 
force of the rebellion; and the men, inspired with their recent and 
magnificent triumphs, murmured at no labors or dangers. Mean- 
while, mindful, even at this intense crisis, of all other and cooperative 
emergencies, Grant, as he was pursuing Lee, sent orders to Sherman 
to push at once against Johnston, so that 'the war might be finished at 
once. "Rebel armies," he reminded him, "are now the only strategic 
points to strike at." Sheridan, with the Sixth corps, came up with 
Lee, on the Gth, at Sailor's creek, struck the enemy in force, and cap- 
tured sixteen pieces of artillery and seven thousand prisoners, among 
whom were seven generals. Ord also engaged the enemy on this day 
at Farmville. And thus the remorseless conqueror went on, pursu- 
ing and striking his enemy by turns. Every day Lee made superhu- 
man exertions to get beyond the pursuer's reach ; every day he found 
himself circumvented, outmanoeuvred, or beaten down again. No time 
was left him to get supplies; his men were subsisting on two ears of 
corn a piece per day, and the arrangements he sought to make to 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 115 

procure them rations, were discovered and frustrated by Grant. A 
train of cars loaded with supplies was captured by Sheridan, and a 
wagon-train with rations was set on fire by artillery. 

On the 7th of April, Grant addressed a note to Lee, summoning 
him to surrender; but Lee sought to gain time, either hoping yet to 
reach Johnston with some fragments of his army, or at least 'to allow 
Johnston an opportunity to escape. So he diplomatized, and was will- 
ing to make peace; but Grant was not to be outwitted, and though he 
continued the correspondence, ceased not his advance or his blows. 
Lee said he was not certain the emergency had arisen to call for his 
surrender; whereupon Sheridan was thrown around in front of Lee, 
and drove him from Appomattox, capturing twenty-five pieces of 
artillery. This, probably, rendered Lee less uncertain about the 
emergency. But Grant declined entirely to treat for peace ; all he 
wanted was surrender. He now sent the Twenty-Fourth corps, under 
Ord, and the Fifth, under Griffin, to support Sheridan, thus completely 
surrounding Lee, who was fairly outmarched; Sheridan was planted 
square across his only road of escape. The great cavalryman at once 
began to attack Lee, who, at first believing there was no infantry in 
his front, endeavored to drive Sheridan away; but suddenly discover- 
ing the presence of two corps of infantry, which he had not deemed 
it possible could have marched fast enough to pass his own troops 
flying under the impulse of terror, he at once sent word to Sheridan 
that he was negotiating with Grant. 

APPOMATTOX. 

On the 9th of April, Lee asked for an interview with the commander 
of the Union armies, for the purpose of surrendering his forces, and 
early in the afternoon of that memorable day, the two antagonists met 
in a plain farm-house, between the armies which had striven against 
each other so long. 

Lee had a solitary staff officer with him, and with Grant were about 
a dozen of his subordinates — Sheridan, Ord, and his own staff. And 
then and there, and in this presence, Grant drew up the terms upon 
which Lee surrendered. Grant first announced what he should de- 
demand, and Lee acquiesced. No one else spoke on the subject. 
Grant then wrote out the stipulations; they were copied by staff offi- 
cers; Lee signed them, and the Army of Northern Virginia was pris- 
oner of war. The terms are world renowned : " Officers and men were 



116 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

paroled, and allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by 
United States authority so long as they observed their paroles and 
the laws in force where they might reside." All arms, artillery, and 
public property were to be turned over to officers appointed by Grant. 
These were the stipulations, as Lee consented to them; but after he 
had signified his acceptance, Grant inserted the clause that the side- 
arms and private horses and baggage of the officers might be retained. 
Lee seemed much gratified at this magnanimity, which saved him and 
his officers the peculiar humiliation of a formal surrender of their 
weapons. He asked, how about the horses of the cavalry men, which 
in the rebel army were the property of the private soldier ? Grant 
replied that these were included in the surrender. Lee looked at the 
paper again, and acquiesced in Grant's interpretation. The latter 
then said, "I will not change the terms of the surrender, General Lee, 

BUT I WILL INSTRUCT MY OFFICERS, WHO RECEIVE THE PAROLES,. TO ALLOW 
THE MEN TO RETAIN THEIR HORSES, AND TAKE THEM HOME TO WORK 

their little farms." Again General Lee expressed his appreciation 
of the generosity of his conqueror, and declared that he thought this 
liberality would have a very good effect. So the interview terminated. 
The next day, Grant and Lee met again on horseback, in the open 
air, and for two hours discussed the situation of affairs. Leo ex- 
pressed a great desire for peace, believed that his surrender was the 
end of the war ; he acquiesced in the abolition of slavery, the return of 
the seceded States, and declared his wish for harmony. Grant urged 
him to use his influence to bring about such a result. Subsequently, 
on the same day, Longstreet, Gordon, Heth, Pickett, Wilcox, W. H. F. 
Lee, and every other officer of high rank in Lee's army, came in a 
body to pay their respects to Grant, and, as they themselves expressed 
it, to thank him for the terms he had allowed him. All manifested 
the kindest spirit. Many of Grant's officers were present at this 
remarkable interview, and not a word was said on either side calcu- 
lated to wound the feelings of any one present. Many of the rebels 
declared how unwillingly they had entered the war ; all submitted 
fully to the inevitable; many expected to be exiled; none dreamed of 
retaining any property; they expected all their lands to be confiscated, 
and themselves to begin life all over again. As for political power, the 
man who had mentioned it would have been scouted at, for insulting 
them. They said they had staked all and lost, and they were grateful 
to retain even their lives; while the unexampled delicacy that had 
left them their swords, the pledge to a soldier of his military honor, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 117 

touched their proud hearts deeply, and they were too proud not to 
acknowledge it. 

Had it been in the power of the men who visited Grant at Appo- 
mattox on that day to speak for the South, none of the difficulties that 
have siace occurred would have disturbed this land. Grant, however, 
is destined to yet another victory, over such of them as have since 
returned to their ancient and defiant spirit, and over all their adhe- 
rents, North and South; and after another Appomattox at the polls, 
they will be as ready to accept his terms as before. And this time, 
he will remain where he can administer the fruits of the victories in 
the field and at the ballot-box, which he will have achieved. Know- 
ing this, and having felt his sword, these men will remain submissive ; 
and, trusting again to his magnanimity, which also they experienced 
before, they will not find their trust in vain. He and those whom he 
represents will disarm them, and render them powerless for further 
mischief to their country; but desire no spoliation, no humiliation, 
no needless suffering of their foes. The results which these men 
looked for at Appomattox, and which Grant there conquered by his 
skill and the matchless endurance of his soldiers, will thus be secured 
forever, and a true Union, under the sway of Union-loving men, per- 
petuated. 

On the day of this wonderful meeting, Grant started for Wash- 
ington. He was well aware that the war was closed. He knew 
that after the surrender of Lee and the capture of Richmond, no 
other rebel force would remain in arms, and he was anxious at once 
to proceed to lessen the expenditures of the Government, and to mus- 
ter out his soldiers. He hastened from Appomattox to City Point, 
everywhere on the route the inhabitants coming out " to see the man 
who had whipped Lee." Then, without even yet stopping to enter 
the capital that he had conquered, or the lines that had withstood 
him so long; without apparently a particle of the natural and pardon- 
able self-glorification of a victor under such extraordinary circum- 
stances, this man, as modest in triumph as he had been persistent in 
difficulty, and sagacious in council, and daring in danger, went on 
to Washington, to engage in the unobtrusive, but still vastly important 
duties of retrenchment. 

SUMMARY. 

In this concluding and most glorious of all the campaigns of the 
war, Grant had lost seven thousand men, in killed, wounded, and 
missing. He had captured Petersburg and Richmond, and won, by 



118 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

his subordinates, the battles of Five Forks and Sailor's Creek, besides 
numerous smaller ones; he had broken the lines at Petersburg in 
three several places, captured twenty thousand men in actual battle, 
and received the surrender of twenty-seven thousand others at Appo- 
mattox, and absolutely annihilated an army of seventy thousand sol- 
diers. Ten thousand, at least, of Lee's army deserted on the road 
from Richmond to Appomattox, and at least ten thousand more were 
killed or wounded. From Lee's own field-return, now on file in the 
War Office, we learn his force at the beginning of the campaign. 
Such an absolute annihilation of an army never occurred before, in so 
short a time, in the history of the world. 

On the 29th of March, Richmond was in the possession of the rebels ; 
their de facto government was established and recognized over hun- 
dreds of thousands of miles; the forces of Lee lined fifty miles of 
works that defended Petersburg and the capital; their greatest com- 
mander was at the head of seventy thousand veterans. In less than 
two weeks, Richmond and Petersburg were captured cities, the lines 
that had defended them so long were useless, except as trophies of 
the humiliation of those who built them ; their government, so called, 
was a fugitive, with "none so poor to do it reverence;" their army 
was not only defeated, but stricken out of existence; its general, and 
every man under him who had not been killed, was a prisoner of war. 
Twenty-seven thousand soldiers never before surrendered in the open 
field, behind no works, without a siege. As purely military events, 
these are unparalleled. 

This last campaign was so short, that its history was hardly reported 
at the time, and its results were so stupendous, that its own amazing 
character has hardly yet been recognized. For splendid marching, 
for repeated and victorious battles, for capture of works thought to 
be impregnable, for vigor and rapidity of movement, and remorseless 
energy, it will compare favorably with any achievements of ancient or 
modern times. 

The total loss during the entire year, among the troops immediately 
under Grant, including those commanded by Butler in the first month 
of the campaign, amounted to twelve thousand six hundred and 
ninety-five killed, forty-seven thousand eight hundred and twenty- 
two wounded, and twenty thousand four hundred and ninety-eight 
missing; total, eighty-two thousand seven hundred and twenty. 
Against this, it is impossible to set off an exact statement of the 
losses of the enemy, for no reports were ever made by the rebels 
of the final battles of the war. There wag no one to whom to 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 119 

report. But Grant captured alone, sixty-six thousand five hundred 
and twelve rebel soldiers in that time, besides the killed or wounded. 
He absolutely annihilated every army opposed to him ; that of Lee. 
that of Early, of Beauregard, and all the forces brought from West 
Virginia and North and South Carolina to reinforce Lee; leaving not 
a living man at the last of all those armies who was not a prisoner. 
So that, with forces not a fourth greater than those of his antagonist, 
and in spite of the enormous advantages of defensive breastworks 
everywhere enjoyed by that antagonist, and which far more than 
balanced Grant's superiority in numbers, he accomplished military 
results that for completeness are utterly without precedent. 

RETRENCHMENT. 

Thus ended the greatest civil war in history. Lee surrendered on 
the 9th of April, and on the 13th Grant was back in Washington, and 
at once urged upon the President and the Secretary of War that, as 
the rebellion was a thing of the past, the work of cutting down the 
military expenses of the Government should begin; accordingly, on 
the day of his arrival at the capital, the following announcement was 
made to the country: 

"War Department, Washington, 

"April 13, 6 P. M. 

"The Department, after mature consideration and consultation with 
the Lieutenant General upon the results of the recent campaign, has 
come to the following determinations, which will be carried into effect 
by appropriate orders, to be immediately issued : 

" First, to stop all drafting and recruiting in the loyal States. 

" Second, to curtail purchases for arms, ammunition, quartermaster, 
and commissary supplies, and reduce the military establishment in its 
several branches. 

" Third, to reduce the number of general and staff officers to the 
actual necessities of the service. 

"Fourth, to remove all military restrictions upon trade and com- 
merce, so far as may be consistent with public safety." 

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

These important reductions in expenditure announced to the nation 
the absolute overthrow of the rebellion and the return to peace. The 



120 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

enthusiasm natural over the immense success that had been gained, at 
once broke out all over the land. In Washington, a great illumination 
of all the public and many private buildings took place, and on the 
14th of April, the day after Grant's return, it was announced in the 
public journals that he would accompany the President that evening 
to Ford's Theatre; but Grant had not seen his children for several 
months, and had a distaste for public demonstrations. He therefore 
declined the President's invitation, and started on the evening of the 
14th for Burlington, New Jersey, where his children were at school. 
Thus, fortunately for America, did Providence again direct the move- 
ments of her greatest captain, and preserved him in peace, as it had 
done in war, for the future emergencies which he was destined to con- 
trol. That night, as is too well known in the history of the country, the 
President was assassinated at the theatre. It was clearly proven, in 
the proceedings of the trial, that the conspirators intended also to 
take the life of him who had so recently preserved the life of the coun- 
try. The crime, however, was not permitted by Heaven ; the attempted 
visit to Burlington took Grant unexpectedly out of the reach of the 
assassin's blow. The Secretary of War at once telegraphed to the 
general-in-chief, who returned the same night to Washington, having 
got no farther than Philadelphia. 

This extraordinary and melancholy event, and the novelty of the 
arrangements which it imposed on the Government, retained Grant in 
Washington for several days. The funeral of the President took 
place on the 19th of April; his successor, Andrew Johnson, having 
been inaugurated immediately upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, on the 
15th. 

Sherman's terms. 

In obedience to Grant's order, of the 5th of April, to "push on from 
where you are, and let us see if we cannot finish the job with Lee's 
and Johnston's armies," Sherman had moved at once against Johnston, 
who retreated rapidly before him through Raleigh, which Sherman 
entered on the 13th. The day preceding, news had reached him of 
the surrender of Lee. On the 14th, a correspondence was opened be- 
tween Sherman and Johnston, which resulted, on the 18th, in an agree- 
ment for a suspension of hostilities, and a memorandum or basis for 
peace, subject, of course, to the approval of the President. The mem- 
orandum was forwarded first to Grant, who immediately perceived that 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 121 

the terms were such as the country would not consent to, as they 
allowed the rebels to deposit their arms and public property in the 
several State arsenals, stipulated for the recognition of the rebel State 
governments by the authorities at Washington, secured to the rebels, 
without exception, all their political rights and franchises, as well as 
their rights of person and property, and, in fact, announced a com- 
plete and absolute amnesty, simply on condition of the disbandment 
of the rebel armies, the distribution of arms, and the resumption 
of peaceful pursuits by those who composed those armies Nothing 
was said about the abolition of slavery, the right of secession, punish- 
ment of past treason, or security against future rebellion. Grant 
forwarded the papers to the Secretary of War, and asked that a Cabi- 
net meeting might be called at once, to determine what action should 
be taken, for there was no time to lose. Grant received Sherman's 
dispatches on the evening of the 20th, and the Cabinet meeting was 
called before midnight. Grant was present. 

The President and his Secretaries were unanimous in condemning 
the action of Sherman ; indeed, their language was so strong, that 
Grant, while agreeing fully with them that the terms were inadmissi- 
ble, yet felt it his duty to his friend to defend his conduct from the 
imputations it excited. He declared that the services Sherman had 
rendered the country for more than four years entitled him to the 
most lenient judgment on his act, and proved that whatever might be 
said of his opinions, his motives were unquestioned. The President 
was especially indignant at Sherman's course, and the sympathy for 
rebels which it was thought to reveal. 

Grant was instructed to start at once for Raleigh, and assume com- 
mand in person, revoking the terms, and thereafter take whatever 
action he thought fit. He started before daybreak of the 21st, and 
arrived at Raleigh on the 24th. There he informed Sherman, as deli- 
cately as possible, of the disapproval of his memorandum, and directed 
him to exact from Johnston the same terms which had been granted 
to Lee. Sherman was thoroughly subordinate, and at once notified 
Johnston that their arrangement had been disapproved; and a second 
set of stipulations was drawn up, in conformity with Grant's instruc- 
tions. Grant, however, magnanimously kept himself in the back- 
ground ; he was not present at any interview with Johnston, remain- 
ing at Raleigh while Sherman went out to the front; and his name 
does not appear in the papers, except where, after the signatures of 
Sherman and Johnston, he wrote, "Approved: U. S. Grant." This the 



122 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

rebel commander was not aware of, and Grant actually went back to 
Washington without Johnston's suspecting that he had been at Raleigh. 
He allowed Sherman to receive the surrender, although he could, in 
compliance with the especial authority and orders given him in Wash- 
ington, have had the glory of accepting the capitulation of Johnston, 
as well as that of Lee. What other living man would have been capa- 
ble of such self-abnegation ? and yet, how infinitely greater the glory 
of declining ! One hardly knows which to admire most, at this supreme 
crisis in the history of the country and of the man — the magnanimity 
manifested to his enemy at Appomattox, or the generosity displayed 
to his friend at Raleigh. 

Grant went immediately back to Washington, taking care every- 
where to defend Sherman ; throwing around his friend the shield of 
his own great reputation, and assuring everybody that Sherman's loy- 
alty was as unquestioned as his own. The indignation throughout the 
land was intense, and nothing but Grant's own splendid fame, and the 
persistency with which he fought for Sherman, saved that illustrious 
soldier from insult, and perhaps degradation. 

On the 28th of April, Grant was again at his headquarters, now 
established at^Washington, and the same day orders were issued for 
the reduction of the forces in the field and garrison, and the expenses 
of every department in the army. These orders effected an immediate 
diminution of expense to the amount of hundreds of millions of 
dollars. 

The various expeditions of Stoneman, Wilson, and Canby had 
meanwhile accomplished all that they were sent to do. There was no 
force of consequence left in front of either of them. Canby took 
possession of Mobile on the 11th of April, Wilson roamed unmolested 
and almost unopposed through the interior of Alabama, until he was 
arrested by the news of the surrender of Lee, and Stoneman had a 
similar career in North Carolina. But as soon as the various rebel 
forces, large or small, heard of the disasters of Johnston and Lee, and 
the terms accorded to them, they also made haste to offer themselves 
as candidates for the same mercy extended to their comrades. During 
the month of May, the last armies of any strength left to the rebel- 
lion, those under Dick Taylor and Kirby Smith, surrendered on th,e 
same terms, and, by the 1st of June, not an armed rebel remained in 
the land. 

THE COLLAPSE. 

The collapse of the revolt was one of the most astounding features 
connected with the war. Not a gun was fired in hostility after the 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 123 

surrender of Lee. Not a soldier held out; not even a guerilla 
remained in arms ; none retreated to a mountain fastness ; none hesi- 
tated not only to give a parole, but to volunteer an oath of allegiance 
to the Government they had offended. Great part of this wonderful 
acquiescence in the results of the war was owing to the magnanimity 
of the terms accorded by Grant. No greater stroke of statesmanship 
can be found recorded in history. Knowing, as he did, the exhausted 
condition of the rebels; — aware that they could hope for no after suc- 
cess, and yet might prolong the fighting for a year in the interior, 
with small detachments ; partizan bands, holding out here and there all 
over the country; collecting together as fast as they were separated; 
renewing the fight after they seemed subdued ; — he determined to grant 
them such terms that there would be neither object nor excuse left 
them for such a course. The consummate wisdom of his conduct was 
proved by the haste which the rebels made to yield everything they 
had fought for. They were ready not only to give up arms, but, as 
has been said, to swear fidelity to the Government. They acquiesced 
in the abolition of slavery, they abandoned the heresy of secession, 
and waited in humility to see what else their conquerors would dictate. 
And they did this in excellent spirit. They said they had staked all, 
and lost all; they admitted it was fair that the Government should 
treat them as conquered rebels; they were thankful for their lives; 
they did not know if their lands would be left them ; they dreamed 
not of political power ; they did not hope to vote ; they only asked to 
be let live quietly under the flag they had outraged, and attempt in 
some slight degree to build up their shattered fortunes. Many did 
not scruple to say that they would be better off now than if the rebel- 
lion had succeeded; many openly declared they were even more likely 
to prosper than during the days when the rebellion had existed. Some 
announced that they were glad that the war had ended as it did, and 
were proud to be back again under the Government under which they 
had been born. The greatest general of the rebellion asked for pardon. 

GRATITUDE TO GRANT. 

All proclaimed especially their admiration of Grant's generosity. 
General Lee refused to present his petition for amnesty until he had 
ascertained in advance that Grant would recommend h. Mrs. Jeffer- 
son Davis wrote to Grant, and went in person to see him, asking his 
all-poAYerful influence to obtain a remission of some of the punishment 



124 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

of her husband ; and throughout the South his praises were on the 
lips of his conquered foes. 

If this was so at the South, the North awarded him such a unanimity 
of praise and affection as no American had ever received before. Houses 
were furnished and presented to him, in Philadelphia, Washington, 
and Galena; magnificent donations of money were placed at his dis- 
posal; whenever he stepped out of his house, crowds attended and 
applauded him; at every public place, theatre or church, the audience 
or congregation rose at his entrance. If he visited a town, the mayor 
and other authorities welcomed him ; cities were illuminated because 
of his presence, processions were formed in his honor, and the whole 
summer of 1865 was one long ovation. The nation felt that it could 
not do enough for the man who had led its armies to victory; men of 
every shade of political, religious, and social opinion or position, 
united in these acclamations. 

But amid them all Grant preserved a modesty as remarkable as the 
ability which had won them. He made a tour of several months 
through the Northern States, during which probably every distin- 
guished man in the country, besides innumerable crowds of less 
illustrious, but quite as hearty and patriotic friends, combined to do 
him honor; and in all this period, hi3 quiet, unobtrusive manner, his 
simplicity of speech and dress, his equanimity and modesty, were as 
much admired as his deeds. To see him, one would never have sus- 
pected that the parade and celebration were on his account. He 
never spoke of his achievements or his success; he never alluded to 
the demonstrations in his honor; he accepted and appreciated the 
kindness that was offered him, thanked the people in the simplest and 
plainest terms, and won their love, where before he had only their 
admiration and their gratitude. 

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION. 

So passed the summer away. Meanwhile, the President had been 
endeavoring to reconstruct the Union. Upon the assassination of Mr. 
Lincoln, there had been great fears entertained by all moderate men, 
that the harshness of Andrew Johnson and his revengeful violence 
towards the rebels would postpone for a long time any real harmony. 
He had openly announced his belief that all traitors should be hanged, 
and had threatened what severities he would use, if he were President 
of the United States. Grant himself was sincerely anxious on this 



LIFE OF GENERAL CHANT. 125 

matter. The extreme violence of the President, when discussing Sher- 
man's terms to the rebels, increased this anxiety, and at first it seemed 
as if it was destined to have ample cause. The President denounced 
the rebels bitterly, he refused to pardon any, he kept many civilians 
imprisoned, he was determined, he said, "to render treason odious;" 
he was anxious to try and to punish even those whom Grant had 
paroled. 

Repeatedly, when Grant was summoned to Cabinet meetings, the 
President wanted to know when the time would come that Lee and 
other paroled officers could be tried and punished; and Grant was 
obliged to intercede and defend them. He maintained that the paroles 
protected them ; that they could not be tried while they obeyed the 
laws and complied with the stipulations they had entered into. He 
was obliged more than once to be very emphatic on this point. He 
thought we had received a very good equivalent for the lives of a few 
leaders, by securing all their arms and getting themselves under our 
control, bound by their oaths to obey the law; and, having received 
this consideration, he held that we ourselves were bound in honor to 
maintain them in theirs.* 

MAGNANIMITY OF GRANT. 

As has been seen, Grant early recommended the pardon of General 
Lee, on the ground that it would do much to secure harmony; and 
favored that of General Johnston, because of the excellent tone and 
spirit he had displayed. Indeed, when measures were taken by a 
subordinate of the Government in Virginia, to bring General Lee to 
trial, that officer at once appealed to Grant, to know if he thought 
the terms at Appomattox allowed this. Grant insisted that they did 
not, and so informed Lee; and went in person to the President on 
the subject, besides stating his views officially and in writing ; and the 
proceedings were stopped. So, also, he sought to alleviate some of the 
sufferings of Jefferson Davis in his prison at Fort Monroe; but in this 
lie was not so successful. He never lost a chance to show a maffaani- 
mous spirit to his fallen foes; and, owing to the feeling of the Pres- 
ident, these chances were constant and numerous. So it came about 
that the South looked to Grant especially, as their guardian and pro- 
tector against Andrew Johnson. 

But, as time wore on, the enmity of the President towards those 
who had boon rebels was modified. They made haste to subscribe 

*See Grant's testimony before Judiciary Committee. 



12G LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

to his terms; whatever he told them to do they did, and, pleased 
with this, he flattered himself that he alone could reconstruct the 
Union. He appointed governors without a shadow of law; he ex- 
acted changes in the constitutions of the seceded States; he estab- 
lished a policy — all without the sanction of Congress, which was not 
in session, and had no power to summon itself, and which he persist- 
ently refused to call together, lest it should obstruct his policy ; so 
that, by the 1st of December, when Congress by law assembled, he 
had built up an elaborate system of reconstruction, for which neither 
the Constitution nor the laws of the land could afford a particle of 
authority. It was true, the times were revolutionary, but his acts 
were autocratic and still more revolutionary, subversive of every 
democratic principle, assuming to himself powers more extraordinary 
than any potentate in Europe ventures to-day to exercise. He could 
easily have called the Congress and consulted with them, and, if they 
differed with him, he was but the executive and they the legislative, 
the law-making power of the Government. The Constitution itself 
prescribes that the President shall simply execute the laws made by 
Congress. 

OPPOSITION OF CONGRESS. 

But Congress met, and it was at once apparent that his scheme 
was not approved by either house. He had not taken nor exacted 
the guarantees which Congress insisted were necessary from those 
lately in rebellion. He was willing to admit them at once to a full 
share in the Government; Congress thought measures should be taken 
to secure what had been won by the war. He seemed willing to with- 
draw the military from the South ; Congress wished it to be retained. 
He would permit those who had been prominent in treason to retain 
that prominence in the rescued Government; Congress was unwilling 
for this. He made no provision for the protection and elevation of 
the emancipated millions ; Congress thought this was one of the first 
duties of the nation. 

Grant took no part in the contest between the two divisions of the 
Government. He was purely a military officer, and unwilling to 
obtrude himself into civil affairs. He was anxious for perfect har- 
mony and peace to be reestablished throughout the land, and inclined 
to the most lenient treatment of the rebels, consistent with retaining 
the advantages that had been so dearly bought. And although he 
was not consulted in the policy originated by the President, yet, as 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 127 

the latter did not choose to call Congress together, and as it was ne- 
cessary to construct some system, he acquiesced when the President 
enunciated his plan. But he always thought and said, that whatever 
the President did must be provisional; he held that Congress, the rep- 
resentative of the people, must eventually decide what the law should 
be, and to its decision all must bow. 

grant's southern tour. 

In November, before Congress had assembled, the President sent 
Grant to make a tour through the South, and to report upon the con- 
dition of affairs. He returned in about three weeks, having visited 
Richmond, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Every- 
where he was received with great respect by the people whom he had 
conquered. The governors and mayors instantly called to pay him 
their respects, the State legislatures invited him to their chambers and 
rose in form to greet him, addresses were made him, and though there 
was no enthusiasm, there was a decided cordiality. In private, many 
of the most prominent civilians and generals of the rebellion called on 
him. 

His report to the President was dated December 18, 1865. It 
stated that "the mass of thinking men of the South accept the situ- 
ation of affairs in good faith." Slavez*y and the right of secession 
they had entirely abandoned; and some of their leading men even de- 
clared that the result of the war was fortunate. Grant recommended, 
however, that a strong military force should still be retained at the 
South, although he believed that "the citizens of that region were 
anxious to return to self-government within the Union as soon as 
possible." There is no doubt that this is exactly the condition of 
affairs which existed at the South at that time, and that, if this spirit 
had been fostered, the rebels would have submitted promptly to the 
conditions which before long Congress imposed. 

the rupture. 

But in February, the quarrel between the President and Congress 
came to an open breach. Grant had striven hard to prevent this; he 
felt the necessity of harmony between these two branches of the Gov- 
ernment at this important crisis, and went from one to another, using 
the immense weight and influence which his achievements gave him, 



128 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

to heal the discord. Many Congressmen, also, were extremely un- 
willing to come to a rupture with the President whom they had elected. 
But Mr. Johnson was determined that his policy should prevail, and 
would listen to no overtures from Congress in which this was not 
stipulated. Congress, however, especially insisted that those who had 
been leaders in the rebellion should be disqualified from holding office, 
and that the principle of representation in Congress from the southern 
States should be changed. Hitherto, before the war, and during the 
existence of slavery, members of the lower House had been chosen, 
not only one for every certain number of inhabitants, but also one for 
every certain number of slaves, though the slaves had no votes; so 
that the vote of a white man at the South was worth nearly half as 
much again as that of a white man at the North. One vote at the 
South did half as much again to elect a Congressman as a vote at 
the North. A white man at the South had half as much more voice 
in the legislation of the country than any man at the North. This had 
been tolerated heretofore because of the compromises of the Constitu- 
tion, and because it had been thought better to allow this great influ- 
ence to slave property rather than run the chance of civil war. 

But the civil war had occurred in spite of the compromises, and the 
North had won. Now, the North insisted that no black man should 
be represented unless he voted. It did not insist that black men 
should vote, but that the white men of the South should not have the 
power which slavery had given them, and which, by a singular effect 
of the constitutional provisions, would be absolutely increased by the 
results of the war and the abolition of slavery. For, if slaves were 
simply emancipated and not enfranchised, and the number of repre- 
sentatives was to be apportioned to the number of the population, 
exactly as at the North, the white voters would of course elect a 
greater number of representatives than before. Until now, it had been 
arranged that to the number of free persons should be added three- 
fifths of " all others ;" but as there would no longer be these " others," 
all being free, the Southern States would actually have their repre- 
sentatives increased by the two-fifths, and yet the small number of 
whites in the southern States would elect them all. 

It was manifestly unjust that the South should gain in political 
power from its evil act, and therefore, after long discussion, Congress 
determined to insist, that if the entire free population of the South 
was to be represented, it should all vote; that the whites should not 
vote for the blacks ; or, if they chose still to exclude the blacks from 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 129 

voting, that their number of representatives should be diminished pro- 
portionately. In other words, that the voting population only should 
be represented. This did not seem a very harsh stipulation to impose 
upon a community which had rebelled against its Government, and 
fought a long and bloody civil war, and been subdued — simply that in 
readmission to a share in that Government, it should have no privileges 
superior to those who had remained loyal, and finally had succeeded 
in overthrowing the rebellion. Yet this, and the exclusion from 
office of a few of those who had been most prominent in rebellion, was 
all that Congress exacted. 

The President, however, although he had enforced the abolition of 
slavery upon the South, absolutely ordering the States to insert it in 
their constitutions, was violently opposed to this necessary corollary of 
emancipation — the rearrangement of representation. He strove to form 
a new party, which should maintain his policy ; an'd political strife at 
once arose all over the land. The old friends of the rebels at the 
North, those who had sympathized with them during the war, who had 
done all that they dared to help them, but had been obliged in some 
degree to veil their sympathies — now, finding they had the President 
on their side, spoke out openly, and encouraged the southerners with 
hopes of better terms than Congress offered them. This aroused the 
rebellious spirit which had brought on the war, and all over the South 
the good feeling which, under Grant's policy had begun to grow up, 
under the President's was converted into hostility. From being pen- 
itent, or at least submissive, the rebels became again blatant and 
haughty. They declared themselves proud of their treason ; they 
insisted upon their rights under the Constitution — they who had 
trampled on the Constitution, and who a few months before had 
meekly sought their pardons ! The whole tone of opinion and feeling 
at the South was changed, and this reacted on the North, which, see- 
ing the ancient defiant and insulting tone resumed — of those whom 
it had so recently and severely chastised — became naturally in- 
dignant. 

The worst of the rebels were not content with talk, but resorted to 
deeds. In the State of Texas alone, Sheridan reported, officially, to 
Grant, that over seven hundred Union whites and negroes were mur- 
dered in one year, and no redress could be obtained. In no court of 
a southern State could a Union man procure justice; no jury would 
convict a rebel for any offence committed against a northerner or a 
black; while at the same time, and in the same courts, suits were in- 
9 



130 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

stituted and decided against Union soldiers for damages done to prop- 
erty in the South during the war, by command of their officers. The 
southern papers teemed again with abuse of northerners; insults 
were offered to northern officers in southern cities by the men whom 
they had conquered, and the natural result occurred. The North 
resented the misuse that was made of its generosity. There were, it 
is true, many southerners who were sorry to see the strife rekindled, 
and who sought to control their misguided friends ; but these were not 
sufficient to stem the current. 

grant's position. 

Grant had watched the course of events with great concern. "With 
all his magnanimity, and even tenderness, for the vanquished, he had 
no idea of relinquishing one iota of the results that he had attained. 
As early as January, 1866, he issued an order, directing that no officer 
of the army should be sued, tried, or punished in any way by a civil 
court at the South for acts done during or since the rebellion. Com- 
plaints against officers or soldiers by civilians or ex-rebels must be 
lodged with their military superiors alone. Soon after this, he refused 
the Governor of Alabama permission to reorganize the militia of that 
State; he declared "he could not see the propriety of putting arms 
into the hands of the militia, until the rights of all classes of citizens 
should be perfectly secure, and the regular United States forces with- 
drawn." He also attempted to restrain, or at least rebuke, the ex- 
tremely offensive and seditious tone which the southern press had 
begun to assume, and directed his subordinates to forward to his head- 
quarters copies of any publications calculated to disturb the public 
peace, or manifesting a revival of the old rebellious spirit. In sev- 
eral instances rebel newspapers of this character were suspended by 
his orders. He was not among those who forgot that there had been a 
tremendous rebellion and a terrible civil war. He knew too well the 
cost that the country had paid to suppress that rebellion, and watched 
the change in the feeling and temper of the South closely, determined 
to do all in his power to avert further trouble in time. While the 
rebels were repentant and submissive, and thoroughly loyal, he was 
willing and anxious to do all in his power to win them with kindness, 
to restore them to prosperity, if not to power, and to ameliorate the 
miserable condition which they had brought upon themselves. But if 
they proved themselves unworthy of this treatment ; if they began to 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 131 

boast of their treason ; to annoy or distress Union men among them; 
to insult the Government which had spared them ; he stood ready to 
administer fresh discipline as long as it was required, and to repress 
sternly the incipient symptoms of relapse. 

There was, however, one portion of the community whom he never 
forgave, and those were the people at the North who had been false to 
the country in the hour of trial; those who had sympathized with the 
rebellion, who had croaked of disaster, who had rejoiced over the suc- 
cesses of treason, and done their best to dishearten the courage of the 
nation, while its defenders were spilling their blood in battle. Towards 
these men — the Woods, the Vallandighams, the Pendletons, the Cly- 
m'ers, the Seymours of the North — Grant was unrelenting. He could 
hardly treat them with civility when they approached him. He could 
forgive a rebel who fought with and for, as he supposed, the commu- 
nity in which he had been born ; but these traitors, who deserted not 
only their country, but their State and section too, Grant could never 
pardon. 

Some of them, because he had been magnaminous in victory, 
thought they could win him over to them, but he repulsed their over- 
tures with scorn. He rarely entered into politics, but declared openly 
that he hoped every soldier would vote always for Union men in pre- 
ference to politicians who had refused to supply men and money to 
carry on the war. 

THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION. 

But the President soon fell entirely into the hands of these people; 
he was surrounded by the most virulent, and this first led Grant to 
abate in his intimacy with Andrew Johnson, and to lessen his confi- 
dence in the President's opinions. While the contest between the 
President and Congress was at its height, a meeting of all those who 
supported Mr. Johnson's views was called at Philadelphia. This was 
attended by some excellent and patriotic men, who did not see clearly 
whither the views expressed by the President were carrying them ; 
men sincerely anxious for harmony, who did not recognize the grow- 
ing revival of a treasonable spirit at the South, and who thought less 
restrictive measures than those proposed by Congress would best ac- 
complish reconstruction. But the great bulk of the men who had 
supported and carried on the war held themselves aloof from this 
attempt to inaugurate a new party. Even in that convention, how- 
ever, such men as Vallandigham and Wood were not allowed to speak; 



132 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

though in more recent conventions, the former has nominated Presi- 
dents for the party that opposed the war. 

A delegation w-as appointed by the Philadelphia convention to pre- 
sent resolutions of sympathy to the President, approving of his policy, 
rather than that of Congress. Mr. Johnson was extremely anxious 
to gain the countenance of Grant on this occasion. He wanted to 
throw the weight of Grant's immense popularity into the scale in his 
own favor. He knew by this time that Grant was much more strongly 
disposed to the Congressional scheme of reconstruction than to his 
own, and that he held firmly to the belief that the Executive was 
simply the instrument to carry out the laws ; but he still sought fo 
obtain Grant's presence and tacit approval, if he could not induce 
him to openly advocate the Presidential policy. Accordingly, on the 
morning of the arrival at the White House of the delegation from 
Philadelphia, the President sent Grant a note, requesting his presence 
at the Executive Mansion, but not stating the object of the visit which 
he desired. An invitation from the President is an order to a military 
officer ; and Grant would have considered it necessary to obey, even 
had he known on what occasion his presence was desired ; but of this 
he was not informed. He went to the White House, expecting to 
transact business with the President, and was ushered into tha east 
room, where he found several hundred delegates paying their respects. 
The President made room for him at his side, and the delegates, after 
speaking to Mr. Johnson, all turned and shook hands with Grant. 
This was heralded all over the country as a proof that Grant approved 
the President's course, and had taken this means of showing his 
position. 

CHICAGO TOUR- 

Shortly afterwards, the President determined to make a tour to 
Chicago, and invited Grant to accompany him. It had now become 
apparent that the lines were to be drawn closely in politics, and that 
for Grant to accompany Mr. Johnson on this tour would be taken as 
an indication that he was a supporter of the President. Grant was 
especially anxious not to be regarded as a partizan ; the elections 
were about to occur, and he was willing for the country to decide 
which policy it would adopt. He begged the President to excuse him 
from going on this trip. But Mr. Johnson repeatedly urged him to 
go, and finally, as a personal matter, renewed his invitation. It would 
have been very indecorous in the general-in-chief to persist in refusal, 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. , 183 

and, very much against his will, he accompanied Mr. Johnson on the 
famous tour, which speedily became an avowed political enterprise, 
and one whose results were more disastrous to its originator than any 
other ever undertaken. Grant kept himself as much as possible in 
the back ground, and positively refused to make any speeches, although 
repeatedly called on ; but, as he had foreseen, the advocates of the 
President declared that his presence during the trip was positive evi- 
dence of his adherence to the Presidential policy. 

In July, 1866, he was promoted to a new rank, created expressly 
for him by Congress— that of General of the Army ; it was the highest 
ever known in the American army. The appointment was unanimously 
confirmed, and the commission issued at once. It was everywhere 
understood that this was done as a national and formal recognition of 
his illustrious services in the field. 

THE ELECTIONS — ME COUNTRY DECIDES. 

In the fall of this year, the elections for the succeeding Congress 
took place, the only question at issue being the policy of reconstruc- 
tion. The campaign was vigorous, and the result unmistakably pro- 
claimed the will of the people. By large majorities the country spoke 
in favor of the Congressional plan. The proposed amendment to the 
Constitution was submitted to the various State Legislatures at the 
North, and ratified by them, and Republican members of the Fortieth 
Congress were elected all over the land by increased majorities. It 
was, therefore, now certain that the President's policy was unaccept- 
able to the loyal people of the country. 

grant's advice to the south. 

But Mr. Johnson was still far from submitting. He had opposed 
Congress, appealing to the people; but, when the people decided 
against him, he was as determined as ever. Grant, however, consid- 
ered that " the will of the people is the law of the land" and that it 
was the duty of every executive officer not only to submit, but to 
"take care that the laws be faithfully executed," no matter what his 
own opinions might be of the justice or even constitutionality of those 
laws. He now used every means to induce the southern people to 
accept the terms of reconstruction offered them by Congress — to adopt 
the constitutional amendment, and return in good faith to that Union 



134 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

which they had striven so hard to overthrow. His influence with 
Southerners had been -great; none of distinction at this time ever was 
in Washington without visiting his house or his headquarters, and to 
all who came he proffered the same advice. Formal delegations from 
some of the southern States were sent to the capital, to take the 
opinion of public men there as to the propriety of accepting these 
terms. These delegations all saw Grant, who sometimes went out of 
his way to meet them, and to urge upon their members the importance 
of adopting the constitutional amendment. One of these interviews 
took place at the house of the Secretary of State, who was known to 
be opposed to the amendment, although it had been endorsed by the 
North, but who invited Grant to meet the delegation from Arkansas. 
Grant went, and spoke very plainly ; he told the Arkansas members 
that he spoke as their friend; he assured them that the temper of the 
North was such that, if these terms were rejected, still harsher ones 
would be imposed. He argued, and plead, and besought them, for 
their own sakes, for the sake of the entire South, for the sake of the 
country, to conform to the situation, to recognize that they had been 
conquered, to yield frankly, to return to the Union ; and assured them 
that a speedy reconciliation would ensure the lightening of all that 
was really onerous in the stipulations proposed. 

Many important and sensible southerners agreed with Grant that it 
was the true policy of the South to submit to what it could not avert ; 
but the President's influence was all thrown the other way. He 
assured those who had been rebels that a change would some in the 
temper of the North ; he advised them not to accede to what was 
demanded; he promised them his influence, and finally was able to 
dissuade them from accepting the amendment. Every southern State 
rejected it. Not one but regrets that fact to-day. 

THE MARYLAND MATTER. 

About this time, political differences occurred in the State of Mary- 
land, which threatened to create a collision between the State author- 
ities and those of the city of Baltimore. The Democrats, who were, 
as usual, in leasue with those of the former rebels who still remained 
blatant and defiant, appealed to the President for armed assistance, 
and he made several communications to Grant, with a view of inducing 
Grant to order troops into the State of Maryland. But Grant replied, 
that there was neither necessity nor law for such a course. He feared 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 135 

that in the excited state of public feeling, which Mr. Johnson's course 
had aroused, the use of troops would provoke bloodshed, and that this 
might prove the spark of a conflagration that could not easily be sup- 
pressed. The law was positive on the subject, and the Administration 
was obliged to acquiesce in Grant's interpretation. Grant addressed 
the President in these words: "I cannot see the possible necessity for 
calling in the aid of the military in advance of even the cause which is 
to induce riot. The conviction is forced on my mind that no reason 
now exists for giving or promising the military aid of the Government 
to support the laws of Maryland. The tendency of giving such aid or 
promise would be to produce the very result intended to be averted. It 
is a contingency I hope never to see arise in this country, zvhile I occupy 
the position of general-in-chief of the army, to have to send troops into 
a State in full relations with the General Government, on the eve of an 
election, to preserve the peace. If insurrection does come, the law 
provides the method of calling out forces to suppress it. JSfo such con- 
dition seems to exist now."* 

But the President seemed very much chagrined that he could not 
induce Grant, on his own responsibility, to make the order. He took 
good care, however, to give no such directions himself. Grant went 
to Baltimore in person at the critical moment, and, seeing both parties, 
averted all danger, inducing them to leave the decision of their rights 
to the authority of the courts. 

MEXICO — ATTEMPT TO DRIVE GRANT OUT OF THE COUNTRY. 

His course in this matter, however, as well as his outspoken advice 
to the Arkansas delegation, had proven very plainly that he could not 
be induced to do anything in favor of the President's extraordinary 
views, outside of the letter of the law; and it was determined to sup- 
plant him. The Administration did not dare absolutely to remove 
from office the most popular man in America, especially when the office 
had been created especially for him. A plan was therefore concocted 
to get Grant out of the way, and to put Sherman, who, it was hoped, 
would prove more supple, in his place. Sherman had said and written 
several things which the President construed into an approval of his 
policy. So Grant was directed to order Sherman to Washington, but 
not informed of the reason for the order. 



* See Ex. Doc, No. 57, Fortieth Congress, second session, pages 63 and following. 



136 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

To fully explain the extraordinary proceedings which now took 
place, it is necessary to take a retrospect. The invasion of Mexico, 
by the French, during the existence of the armed rebellion, was un- 
doubtedly undertaken in the interests of that rebellion; and when 
our internal war was over, Grant, regarding the French occupation as 
only a part and parcel of the rebellion, was very anxious to compel 
the evacuation of Mexico. He did not think it would be necessary 
to resort to arms in order to accomplish this, but he believed that a 
threat of war, in case the evacuation were not immediate, would have 
the desired effect. 

He urged repeatedly and earnestly upon the Government, that now 
Was the time, while we had still hundreds of thousands of men in 
arms, to say to the Emperor of the French, that we could not tolerate 
the occupation of Mexico by a European power. Before our armies 
were disbanded, he ordered Sheridan, with a large force, to the banks 
of the Rio Grande, especially to watch the movements in Mexico, and 
With the hope that he could persuade the Goverment to call peremp- 
torily upon France to withdraw. But the Secretary of State had no 
relish for such positive proceedings. They were not in accordance 
with his adroit diplomacy, and the frank, outspokenness of the soldier, 
was not so acceptable to the President as the wily machinations of the 
veteran politician. The President professed to wish to see the 
French leave Mexico, but he never followed Grant's advice in the 
matter. He never summoned France to leave, until he knew that her 
troops were embarking. Still Grant kept up for two years his anxious 
and earnest importunity on this subject. He spurred on the unwilling 
Government, and whatever was accomplished in this matter was due, 
in reality, to his pertinacity, and to the threat which the presence of 
Sheridan, with an army on the Rio Grande, constantly offered to Louis 
Napoleon. Besides this, Grant openly spoke in favor of his views — a 
course most unusual with him — and fostered, by every means in his 
power, the popular feeling against the French occupation. He con- 
stantly advised that arms should be supplied the Mexicans by our 
Government; he encouraged the Mexicans whom he saw, to hold out; 
and was, by far, the most active and persistent friend of the Monroe 
doctrine in America. It is not too much to assert, that it was this 
unintermitted effort and influence of his, that stimulated the Govern- 
ment and menaced the Emperor of the French, (who was well aware 
of Grant's feeling on the subject,) and that finally secured the evacu- 
ation of Mexico. But for this, the time-serving, procrastinating policy 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 137 

of the Secretary of State would have lasted till now, and the Empire 
of Maximilian would have still existed; the nucleus, perhaps, of a 
future rebellion, as it was, both during and long after the war, the 
nest of traitors and the abettor of treason. 

The Administration, in its anxiety to get rid of such a loyal, law-- 
abiding, and powerful patriot as Grant, bethought itself of Mexico, 
and determined to send him thither. Knowing his profound interest 
in the subject of Mexican independence, it was thought he would 
bite at the bait at once; and, as the country was also well aware of 
his sentiment, there would be excuse enough to veil their real motives, 
and account for the exile of the greatest of our soldiers. The move- 
ment was sudden. No peculiar interest in Mexico had been mani- 
fested by the Government for months; it was known that the French 
Emperor was tardily preparing to withdraw his troops; there was not 
the shadow of a real cause for the proposition ; but all at once, in 
November, 1866, the President informed Grant that he meant to send 
him to Mexico. He was to go, not at the head of an army, but on a 
diplomatic mission, in connection with an obscure individual, one Col- 
onel L. D. Campbell, who had recently been appointed minister to Mex- 
ico ; but who, it was supposed, could not be confirmed by the Senate. 
There was no special object of the mission announced ; Grant was 
simply to go to Mexico, and examine, as well as he could, into the 
state of affairs; he was given no powers or authority, not even that 
of an ordinary minister, and was not instructed or empowered either 
to make demands, or to back his statements with menaces or men. 
He was simply to give Lewis D. Campbell the "benefit of his advice," 
u in carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of State."* 

The device was transparent to the far-seeing, honest man, and he 
promptly declined to go. This was in conversation with the Presi- 
dent. But a day or two afterwards the President returned to the 
subject, and urged the embassy on Grant, saying he had sent for 
Sherman to take his place in the meantime. Congress was about to 
assemble, and the air was full of rumors that the President would 
refuse to aknowledge the validity of Congress, and attempt to disperse 
it by arms. Mr. Johnson had recently seemed to have peculiar designs 
in regard to Maryland. Grant remembered all this, and again declined 
to leave the country, this time in writing. After this, he was summoned 



* See Ex. Doc, No. 57, Fortieth Congress, second session, House of Representatives, 
page 69. 



138 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

to a full Cabinet meeting, where his detailed instructions were read 
out by the Secretary .of State, as if the objections and refusal had 
been of no account. They were determined to make hirn go, whether 
he would or not — to drive him out of the country which he had saved. 
Grant was now aroused, aud, before the whole Cabinet, declared his 
unwillingness to leave. Whereupon the President, not ansAvering 
Grant, turned to the Attorney General, and asked him whether there 
was any reason why Grant should not obey this order — whether he was 
ineligible to the position in any way. Grant at once started to his 
feet, and exclaimed, " I can answer that question, Mr. President, 
without appealing to the Attorney General. I am an American citi- 
zen, have been guilty of no treason or other crime, and am eligible to 
any civil office to which any other American is eligible. But this is a 
purely civil duty, to which you would assign me, and I cannot be com- 
pelled to undertake it. Any legal military order you give me, I will 
obey; but this is civil and not military, and I decline the duty. No 
power on earth can force me to it." The President and his ministers 
were astounded and silent, and Grant left the Cabinet-chamber. 

Even after this, copies of his instructions were forwarded to him 
through the Secretary of War, who was directed to request him to 
proceed to Mexi&o. He now wrote a second letter, declining most 
positively the duty assigned him. But, meanwhile, Sherman had been 
sent for, and had arrived. The country was rife with rumors of the 
object of his coming; the Administration had to conjure up some 
excuse for sending for him. The President, therefore, urged him to 
accept the position of Secretary of War ; but this Sherman peremp- 
torily declined. So, after a day or two, Grant was directed to turn 
over his instructions for the Mexican mission to Sherman, and Sher- 
man was sent to Mexico with Campbell, while Grant was let alone. 
Sherman accomplished nothing by his mission, as neither he nor any 
one else expected he would; and, after a month or so, he returned. 
For all that was done, he might as well have remained in St. Louis; 
but it was necessary to save the credit of the Administration, and he 
was made the scapegoat. 

CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION. 

When it was definitely known that the terms upon which readmis- 
sion to the Union was proffered to those who had been in rebellion had 
been refused, although those terms had been submitted to the people 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 139 

of the North, and by them overwhelmingly approved, Congress at 
once set about the work of reconstruction, whether the southern 
States agreed or not. It was not to be endured that the work for 
which so many lives had been spent, so much toil, and danger, and 
expense incurred, should be forfeited, because those who had caused 
all this expenditure were still recusant. There was no obligation on 
the loyal people to consult the rebels at all; the nation had won, and 
might dispose of its own ; it had chosen to be lenient, to be more than 
lenient ; it had taken none of the lives that were fairly forfeited ; it 
had confiscated no property since the close of the war ; it had even 
offered to allow those who had striven for its ruin, a share in the Gov- 
ernment; but they had refused. Now, it was determined that the 
States should return, whether they wished it or no. They should be 
governed, and as the loyal people desired. The whole rebellious 
region was at once divided into five military districts, and military 
rule declared supreme in each. The commanders had power to remove 
any political officer, to set aside any State law, and were especially 
enjoined to see that the justice which the State courts had persistently 
denied to Union soldiers and Union men, white or black, should be 
impartially administered. This condition of affairs was to last until 
the States chose to return to the Union, under new and more unpalat- 
able conditions than those which they had refused. It had become 
evident that the fruits of the war could only be secured by a free 
admission of the colored population to the right of suffrage. The 
entire rebellious portion of the southern people were determined that 
they would not submit to the terms proposed by Congress ; but, by 
throwing open the ballot to the negroes, a majority could be obtained 
large enough to carry out the measures which the loyal people desired. 
It was accordingly decreed that the colored people should vote on 
equal terms with the white. The blacks had been staunchly loyal 
during the war, of which they were in so large a degree the cause; and 
there was no doubt that their sympathies and votes would be decidedly 
with the men who had freed them; with the Government and the na- 
tion, rather than with the faction which had held them in slavery, and 
warred against the country. The former rebels were still not disfran- 
chised; with a long-suffering unparalleled in history, the Government, 
justly incensed as it was at their stiffneckedness and insolent defiance 
of those who had conquered them, still allowed them a voice in select- 
ing that government and determining its policy; but it insisted that 
the blacks should share in proportion to their numbers. When State 



140 LIFE OF GENEKAL GRANT. 

constitutions, in conformity with this condition of affairs, should be 
formed by this increased voting population, presented to Congress, 
and accepted by it, the military rule should cease, and the rebel States 
be admitted again to an equal share in the Government. 

This is, in few words, the Congressional system of reconstruction, 
enacted by Congress in March, 1867 ; it was passed over the veto of 
the President, and, because of the President's known and pronounced 
opposition to it, a supervisory power over the military district command- 
ers was given to Grant. It was even proposed to make him supreme 
over the southern States, and independent of the President ; but against 
this he advised in the strongest manner, as subversive of the princi- 
ples of the Government; and his counsels prevailed. 

grant's statesmanship. 

From this time, however, he entered upon one of the most difficult 
administrative positions that any soldier or civilian was ever called 
upon to fill. In a condition of affairs amounting to revolution; where 
an entire hostile population had to be controlled, while a recently - 
enfranchised one was to be enlightened and led upward; where the 
legislative and the executive branches of the Government were at 
open enmity ; where the passions of a terrible civil war were yet not 
subsided ; where an arbitrary military rule was established under a 
democratic and republican form of government ; — he was placed amid 
all these contending interests and passions, to balance, and soothe, 
and direct, and influence all. A subordinate of the President, he was 
yet in some important respects declared independent of him ; and it 
was made his duty by the law to carry out a policy which the Presi- 
dent sought by every possible means to thwart and destroy. 

No statesman ever had so delicate or difficult a task before. To 
the performance of this task he brought great sagacity, untiring 
patience, unparalleled equanimity, persistency, purity, and a desire to 
do justice to all. He was able even yet to postpone the fiercest phase 
of hostility that was destined to appear between the President and the 
Congress ; he strove to do nothing offensive to the former — to obey all 
his legal orders, to show him all the respect due his office— and at the 
same time to carry out the spirit of the laws, which he and every other 
officer of the Government was bound to obey; to protect the white and 
black Unionists at the South, while he treated rebels with mingled 
leniency and justice. He was, however,. convinced that since these 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 141 

measures had been inaugurated by Congress, it was for the interest of 
the country that they should be successfully carried out. He believed 
that the old spirit of the war had revived at the South to such a de- 
gree, that strenuous repression of it was necessary. He advised the 
removal from office of all persons who were not really anxious to 
renew their allegiance to the flag; at the same time that he repeatedly 
urged upon Congress the remission of the penalties of treason in the 
case of those whose course proved that they were now really loyal. 
By this spirit his whole course was guided. He had no power (except 
in one or two particulars) to order the district commanders in the dis- 
charge of their civil duties, but he advised them constantly; and, with 
a single exception, they always asked and took his advice as orders. 

PROGRESS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 

Under his wise and really pacific management, the evil spirit at the 
South began to subside, murders were less common, justice was more 
frequent, the rebel population itself declared its satisfaction with mili- 
tary rule, its preference for this to any other government. Mean- 
while, the registration of the new voters commenced, and all things 
went on smoothly. It seemed as if the reconstruction measures must 
succeed, and peace was to come at last to this distracted land. The 
rebels, finding that Mr. Johnson was powerless and the North deter- 
mined, were submitting to the inevitable. 

OPPOSITION OF THE PRESIDENT. 

But now the President discovered some loopholes in the law through 
which he still might be able to frustrate the will of the representatives 
of the people. He had been left the power to appoint the district 
commanders. He had appointed them all — Sheridan, Schofield, 
Sickles, Pope, and Ord ; all soldiers, who, before the war, were with- 
out any tinge of abolition sentiment ; all men who, since the war, had 
evinced the strongest sympathy with the original magnanimous policy 
inaugurated by Grant. But all were men accustomed to obey the law; 
all strove heartily to carry out the laws of Congress under which they 
were appointed; and it was through their united endeavors, in a great 
degree, that the success of the reconstruction measures seemed likely 
to be ensured. The President, however, endeavored to thwart their 
action, and repeatedly obliged Grant to defend them. He took the 



142 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

position that the reconstruction acts were unconstitutional, and that. 
therefore, he was not bound to obey them. Grant held that only the 
Supreme Court could pronounce on this question of constitutionality 
or unconstitutionality; and that, till that tribunal should pronounce, 
all officers, from the President down, were bound to obey these laws. 
The Attorney General gave opinions in favor of many of the Presi- 
dent's views, especially declaring that any person at the South who 
was willing to take the oath of allegiance should be registered as a 
voter. Congress had expressly directed that certain classes at the 
South should be excluded from the franchise. The President directed 
Grant to forward this opinion to the district commanders. He obeyed, 
but at the same time informed them that the law made them their own 
interpreters of their powers and duties; and as thePresidcnt did not 
choose absolutely to direct him or them to act according to this opin- 
ion, they did not do so. Sheridan, who commanded the fifth military 
district, consisting of the States of Louisiana and Texas, was proceed- 
ing with his work with so much vigor, that unless his efforts were 
speedily arrested, it was evident he would soon succeed in bringing 
those States into the Union. The President, therefore, in the sum- 
mer of 1867, determined to remove Sheridan, as well as the Secretary 
of War, who was the only member of his Cabinet now in harmony with 
the Union sentiment of the country. 

SUSPENSION OF STANTON. 

The President's avowed unwillingness to conform to the measures of 
Congress had been so great, that the national legislature, on adjourn- 
ing in the spring, had left itself at liberty to meet again in July, if the 
action of the President rendered this desirable. There was no doubt 
on the subject when the time came. Congress met, and placed the 
subject of reconstruction still more completely in the hands of the 
General of the Army. It had been thought that Mr. Johnson would en- 
deavor to remove Mr. Stanton, because of his sympathy with Congress, 
and a law had been passed, taking from the President the power to 
remove his Cabinet ministers without the consent of the Senate. The 
President had vetoed the bill, but it was passed over his veto, he de- 
claring it unconstitutional, and threatening not to obey it; and after 
Congress again adjourned, he announced to Grant his intention to 
remove the Secretary of War, and to make Grant the successor of 
Stanton. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 143 

In this design the Government may have been actuated by a double 
motive- They saw the great and increasing popularity of the general- 
in-chief, and, perhaps, thought, by bringing him into a political situa- 
tion, to entangle him, and lessen his influence -with the people, and his 
probable chances as a Presidential candidate. But they were also 
anxious to secure the present prestige of Grant for their own unpopu- 
lar course, although they knew full well how thoroughly Grant was 
in sympathy with the Congressional measures, and how many causes of 
difference had arisen between him and the Administration in this mat- 
ter. The people, however, were not so well apprized as they. Grant had 
thought it his duty to his superior and to the country to conceal these 
differences from the public. He was anxious to overcome the Presi- 
dent's obstinacy, and still hoped to avert some of the dangers which 
that obstinacy threatened to bring upon the land. Beside this, he 
wanted to avoid the indecorum of a dissension with his chief before the 
world. The country, therefore, was uncertain (in some degree) of 
Grant's position on these subjects ; although to the President and his 
Cabinet, and to hi3 subordinate officers, he had proclaimed his opinions 
a^ain and again. Now, if the President meant to avail himself of this 
decent reticence which Grant had maintained, he could, by placing 
the general-in-chief in his Cabinet, give to himself, before the coun- 
try, the sanction of the greatest name in America. But Grant at 
once protested against the removal of either Mr. Stanton or General 
Sheridan. He did this in conversation, when the matter was origi- 
nally mentioned; but, after the interview was ended, he addressed the 
President a letter, marked "Private," in which he used the following 
words : 

" On the subject of the displacement of the Secretary of War : His 
removal cannot be effected against his will without the consent of the 
Senate. It is but a short time since the United States Senate was in 
session, and why not then have asked for his removal, if desired? It 
certainly was the intention of the legislative branch of the Government 
to place Cabinet ministers beyond the power of executive removal, 
and it is pretty well understood that, so far as Cabinet ministers are 
affected by the ' tenurc-of-office bill,' it was intended specially to pro- 
tect the Secretary of War, whom the country felt great confidence in. 
The meaning of the law may be explained away by an astute lawyer, 
but common sense, and the views of loyal people, will give it the effect 
intended by its framers." 

This delayed the President's action for a week or so; but on the 12th 



144 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

of August, Mr. Johnson, acting in strict conformity with the pro^ 
visions of the tenure-of-office bill, suspended Mr. Stanton from office 
as Secretary of War, and appointed Grant ad interim in his stead. 
He had first requested Mr. Stanton to resign ; but that officer declined, 
stating that grave considerations of public duty impelled him to this 
course. 

When the President made the order appointing Grant, the Secre-- 
tary urged the latter to accept, assuring him that the interests of the 
country required it. Grant was well aware that his motives would be 
misconstrued by many of his countrymen, but he felt that he might 
be able, in the Cabinet, to prevent some of the other changes upon 
which the President was apparently bent, and, perhaps, to avert dan*- 
gers almost equal to those which the country had so recently incurred, 
He had so often, and avowedly, and within the last two weeks so ex- 
plicitly, and in writing, stated to the President his views on all subjects 
connected with reconstruction, that there was no disguise on his part, 
nor misconception on the President's, of Grant's motives in entering the 
Cabinet. From the first day till the last of his service as Secretary 
of War, he maintained, openly and earnestly, the opinions and the 
position which his letters of August 1st and 17th indicate. For a few 
days after his entrance upon his new duties, nothing was said about 
the removal of Sheridan, and Grant began to hope that the removal of 
Stanton would satisfy Mr. Johnson. 

REMOVAL OF SHERIDAN, 

But the rebels in Louisiana urged the matter strongly, and especially 
insisted that unless the President acted soon, Louisiana would be re- 
constructed, and Congress triumphant. On the 17th of August, there- 
fore, without further premonition, he directed Grant to issue an order 
removing Sheridan, and substituting General George H. Thomas in his 
stead. That sturdy patriot, however, had no idea of being brought 
in to obstruct the laws of the land, and wrote at once in the most 
urgent terms to request not to be substituted for Sheridan. There- 
upon General W. S. Hancock was appointed, and he made no difficulty 
in accepting the position. 

In announcing these orders to Grant, the President invited any 
remarks from the general-in-chief which he might choose to make, 
and the general replied in his memorable and eloquent letter, in which 
he used the following patriotic words : 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 145 

"I am pleased to avail myself of this opportunity to urge, earnestly 
urge, urge in the name of a patriotic people, who have sacrificed hun- 
dreds of thousands of loyal lives, and thousands of millions of treasure, 
to preserve the integrity and Union of this country, that this order be 
not insisted on. It is unmistakably the expressed wish of the country 
that General Sheridan should not be removed from his present com- 
mand. This is a Republic, where the will of the people is the law of 
the land. I beg that their voice may be heard. General Sheridan 
has performed his civil duties faithfully and intelligently. His re- 
moval will only be regarded as an effort to defeat the laws of Con- 
gress. It will be interpreted by the unreconstructed element in the 
South — those who did all they could to break up the Govermcnt by 
arms, and now wish to be the only element consulted as to. the method 
of restoring order — as a triumph. It will embolden them to renewed 
opposition to the will of the loyal masses, believing that they have the 
Executive with them." 

A torrent of indignation broke all over the land from the friends of 
the Republic at the removal of Stanton and Sheridan ; and many 
staunch friends of Grant did not hesitate to disapprove his course in 
entering Mr. Johnson's Cabinet. They considered that this step indi- 
cated that the great soldier was in sympathy with the policy of the 
President. Grant remained silent under the unmerited reproach, 
calm in the consciousness of having performed his duty ; and in a 
short time the whole correspondence between the President, himself, 
and Mr. Stanton, was given to the country, in answer to several calls 
from Congress, and the position of Grant became established. To add 
the peculiar duties of a Cabinet officer to those with which Grant was 
already intrusted, by virtue of his position as General of the Army, 
and those imposed on him by the reconstruction laws, was to make 
him almost more powerful than the President, and to oppress him with 
still heavier and more complicated responsibilities than any he had 
yet incurred. But he was able, with wonderful sagacity, to act so as 
for a long while to seem to command the approbation of all, even of 
the adherents of the President. The following extracts from his cor- 
respondence with Mr. Stanton show his relations with the man whom 
he had superseded : 

Grant to Stanton. 

"Sir: Enclosed herewith I have the honor to transmit to you a 
copy of a letter just received from the President of the United States, 
10 



146 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

notifying me of my assignment as Secretary of War, and directing me 
to assume those duties at once. In notifying you of my acceptance, 
I cannot let the opportunity pass without expressing to you my appre- 
ciation of the zeal, patriotism, firmness, and ability, with which you 
have ever discharged the duties of Secretary of War." 

Stanton to Grant. 

* * "You will please accept my acknowledgment of the kind 
terms in which you have notified me of your acceptance of the Pres- 
ident's appointment, and my cordial reciprocation of the sentiments 
expressed." 

GRANT AS SECRETARY OF WAR. 

At the same time, Grant's letters to the'Presiclent had sufficiently 
explained to that functionary and to the country his sympathy with 
the policy of Congress. But as he was now ad interim Secretary of 
War, it was necessary for him to attend Cabinet meetings, and there- 
fore to be present at many political discussions, for whose tendency 
he had neither interest nor approbation. He therefore represented to 
the President that, as he was only holding the office of Secretary of 
War until another should be appointed, and that not by his own sug- 
gestion or desire, and as his legitimate position was that of General 
of the Army, who might be compelled to serve under successive 
Administrations, he should be excused from participation in the purely 
partisan duties of a Cabinet minister. The President at first paid 
no attention to his request, but subsequently Grant renewed it re- 
peatedly, and at last was accustomed to remain at Cabinet meetings 
only long enough to present his budget of papers as Secretary of 
War, and transact the purely official business of his post. He was 
then in the habit of retiring. This indicated very plainly to the 
President, and the other members of his Administration, that Grant 
was determined not to be considered one of them in purely political 
matters. 

He was sometimes requested to remain, and give his opinions on 
matters not strictly within his province as Secretary of War, and when 
he did so, those opinions were as pronounced as possible. The discus- 
sion of the constitutionality of the tenure-of-office bill, and other 
measures connected with the reconstruction acts of Congress, was 
frequent at such times, and Grant never left the President or his 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 147 

Cabinet in doubt as to his position — that, until the Supreme Court 
should decide upon the constitutionality of these laws, the Govern- 
ment was bound to carry them out in spirit and in letter to the utmost 
of its ability. 

RETRENCHMENT AGAIN. 

But although he refrained as much as possible from participation 
in the political duties often expected from a Cabinet minister, he was 
earnest and energetic, from the start, in the performance of all func- 
tions pertaining legitimately to his office as Secretary of War. There 
were many abuses which had crept into the administration of the 
army during the protracted and costly civil war, which only an expe- 
rienced army officer would be likely to recognize, and which a civilian 
might naturally suppose had existed as a part of the unwritten con- 
stitution of the service. These, and all other mismanagements, whether 
proceeding from neglect or downright misdoing on the part of subor- 
dinates or outsiders, Grant immediately set himself to work to correct. 
Retrenchment, as usual, was the first subject to attract his attention. 
The use of ambulances as carriages, at every headquarters in the army, 
had entailed an immense expense, unknown before the war. This 
practice was at once abolished, beginning at his own headquarters. 
The bureau of rebel archives had remained separate and distinct, under 
the charge of a civilian; it was transferred to the Adjutant General's 
department, and the bureau for the exchange of prisoners was abol- 
ished, thus relieving the Government from the expense of a large 
number of clerks and civil employe's. Immense quantities of stores 
had accumulated in the Quartermaster's department during the war, 
and had now become useless; these were directed to be sold; and the 
storehouses, for which great rents had been paid, were then given up. 
The volunteer officers yet remaining in the service were mustered our, 
in all but a few cases, where their services still seemed indispensable. 
The agency of the Freedmen's Bureau was restricted almost exclu- 
sively to officers of the army, so that the civilian employes were dis- 
pensed with, and the expenses of the bureau greatly reduced by this 
and all other means within his control. These various retrenchments 
were so important, that in his annual message to Congress, the Presi- 
dent, no partial witness, declared that "salutary reforms have been 
introduced by the Secretary ad interim, and great reductions of ex- 
penses have been effected under his administration of the War Depart- 
ment, to the saving of millions to the Treasury." 



148 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

In fact, the useless offices that were cut off, the sinecures that were 
abolished, the extravagances that were curtailed, the system of rigid 
economy that was introduced, all indicated a decided administrative 
ability and honesty, that recalled the palmy days of the Republic, and 
afforded a happy augury of what would occur if he, who in a subordinate 
position was able to accomplish so much, should be elevated to the head 
of the Government. In Grant's report, as Secretary of War, he 
reduced the estimates for the expenditures of the Department in the 
ensuino- year so greatly, that the report was distrusted by some, and 
the calculations were revised, when he brought down the estimates still 
further — to twenty-seven millions of dollars; and to this estimate the 
chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means (Hon. R. C. Schenck) 
has given his endorsement of its accuracy. 

Meanwhile, the President's opposition to Congress continued, with 
all its evil results upon the country, inflaming the South with the hope 
of reacquiring all their old preponderance, till the ex-rebels openly 
talked of repudiating the national debt, and asserting their rights to 
all that they had forfeited by their treason. The whole country was 
kept in a state of agitation ; business was disturbed, the finances 
became involved, good feeling between North and South had almost 
ceased, and, in the portion of the land where war had not raged, party 
spirit rose higher, if possible, than before the war. Every step the 
President took added to the excitement; every day he became more 
closely allied with those who had striven to overthrow the Govern- 
ment. He removed, first Mr. Stanton ; then General Sheridan ; then 
General Sickles, who was relieved by Canby ; and Pope, who was 
relieved by General Meade. But both of the officers whom he thus 
placed in the position of district commanders at once began to carry 
out the laws in the spirit in which they were conceived. Only in 
General Hancock, who superseded Sheridan, did he find a solitary 
instance of a soldier who had made a reputation by his efforts against 
the rebellion and was willing to risk that reputation in the attempt 
to restore the rebels to power. 

STANTON REINSTATED. 

Finally, however, Congress reassembled, and some check was put 
upon the almost unbridled movements of the President. He was 
obliged, by the tenure-of-office bill, to report to the Senate, within 
twenty days after its meeting, the reasons for which he had suspended 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 149 

the Secretary of War. This he did, and the Senate, on the 13th of 
January, decided that the reasons were insufficient. By the express 
language of the law, the moment that the Senate decided this, Mr. 
Stanton was reinstated in his office. It had become evident, several 
days before, that the Senate would come to this determination, and, 
as soon as Grant was convinced of this, on the 11th of January, two 
days prior to the action of the Senate, he notified the President that 
he could not, without violation of the law, and subjecting himself to 
the penalties of fine and imprisonment, refuse to vacate the office of 
Secretary of War the moment Mr. Stanton was reinstated by the 
Senate. 

He made this known to the President in person, as he had previously 
promised to do, in case he came to such a conclusion. The President, 
however, disputed Grant's views, and strove to induce him to change 
his intention. A long and earnest conversation ensued, each main- 
taining his own opinions vigorously; finally, it became late, and the 
President said he would see Grant again, to which Grant made no 
reply. 

The next day was Sunday, and Lieutenant General Sherman being 
in town, Grant sent him to the President to urge the nomination to 
the Senate of some other person as Secretary of War, so that the 
Senate might act, and Mr. Stanton be relieved, and any unpleasant 
imbroglio avoided. The person proposed by Grant was Ex-Governor 
Cox, of Ohio, who had been a major general of volunteers during 
the war, and afterwards elected Governor of Ohio by the Republican 
vote, but who was now out of office. His position in politics was not 
so Radical as that of many of the President's opponents, and Grant 
hoped, if the President could be induced to nominate Cox, that the 
Senate would confirm him, and the difficulty might be bridged over. 
Sherman saw the President, urged this action upon him, and told him 
Grant was in favor of it ; many of the President's advisers and friends 
concurred. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday passed, however, and the 
President did not act. But the Senate was not so dilatory. Late on 
Monday, the 13th of January, it resolved that the causes for remov- 
ing Mr. Stanton were insufficient. The President, Stanton, and Grant 
were officially notified of that fact during the evening. Grant was at 
the President's levee that night, but had only formal, unofficial conver- 
sation with Mr. Johnson, having already notified him of what his own 
action would be. 

On the morning of the 14th, Mr. Stanton took possession of the 



150 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

office of Secretary of War, and Grant notified the President in writ- 
ing that he had received notice of the action of the Senate, and 
that his functions as Secretary of War ad interim ceased from the 
moment of his receipt of the notice. The President sent Grant a 
message, by the bearer of this letter, that he wanted to see him at 
Cabinet meeting that day. Grant obeyed the summons, and was 
addressed by the President as Mr. Secretary of War, and asked to 
open his budget. He at once reminded Mr. Johnson of the notifi- 
cation he had given him; whereupon the President stated that Grant 
had promised to hold the position of Secretary of War until displaced 
by the courts, or at least to resign, so as to place the President where 
he would have been had Grant never accepted the office. Amazed at 
this remarkable and unlooked-for assertion, Grant repeated what had 
actually taken place between himself and the President ; though, to 
soften the evident contradiction his statement gave to the President's 
declaration, he said, alluding to an anterior conversation of himself 
and the President, the President might have understood him as he 
declared, namely, that Grant had promised to resign, if he did not 
resist the reinstatement. Grant, however, had not only never made 
such a promise, but had expressly told the President to the contrary, 
three days before. His anxiety, however, not to offensively contra- 
dict the President before his Cabinet, occasioned all of the subsequent 
difficulty. He was shocked and surprised at Mr. Johnson's assertions, 
and this natural indignation was also perverted by his enemy into an 
emotion of a very different nature, and with a very different cause. 

CONTROVERSY WITH THE PRESIDENT. 

The President now gave out to the public press statements of Grant's 
course, which directly affected his honor ; and, after submitting to this 
for a day or two, the general-in-chief addressed the President a letter 
on the subject, in which he complained of the "gross misrepresenta- 
tions" which had been made, and asserted the facts as they have been 
given above. The President, in reply, reiterated circumstantially the 
charge which he had previously made in Cabinet meeting, and now 
declared that, in the presence of the Cabinet, Grant had acknowledged 
the truth of those charges ; and that he, the President, had read the 
offensive newspaper article to four of his Cabinet, who testified to the 
accuracy of its statements. 

Grant had no option, when thus assailed, but to defend himself. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 151 

He had been attacked anonymously and through the public press, but, 
as was acknowledged, with the connivance of his superior; and when 
he wrote respectfully, but earnestly, to the President, that functionary 
took upon himself to endorse the most violent accusations in the news- 
papers against the personal honor of the General of the Army. 
Grant's reputation for veracity had never been impugned before by 
his bitterest enemies; the President had been frequently accused of 
deviations from truth; and the subordinate, now repeating all that he 
had formerly declared, reasserted the correctness of his statements in 
his own former letter, "anything in the President's reply to it to the 
contrary notwithstanding." He then remarked: "And now, Mr. Presi- 
dent, when my honor as a soldier and integrity as a man have been so 
violently assailed, pardon me for saying, that I can but regard this 
whole matter, from the beginning to the end, as an attempt to involve 
me in the resistance of law, for which you hesitate to assume the 
responsibility in orders, and thus to destroy my character before the 
country. I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by your 
recent orders, directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of 
War — my superior and your subordinate — without countermanding 
his authority to issue the orders I am to disobey." "Mr. President, 
nothing less than a vindication of my personal honor and character 
could have induced this correspondence on my part." 

In reply to this, the President wrote another letter, to the same effect 
as his earlier one, and appended to it letters of four of his Cabinet 
ministers. The Secretary of the Navy, addressing Mr. Johnson, 
declared that "The three points specified in that letter, giving your 
recollection of his conversation, are correctly stated," which amounts 
simply to a statement that the President gave his own recollection of 
the conversation correctly. The Secretary of the Treasury was less 
equivocal, and was not unwilling to put himself on record as saying, 
"Your account of that conversation, substantially, in all important par- 
ticulars, accords with my recollection of it." Neither of these per- 
sonages, however, complied with the written request of the President, 
" to state what was said in that conversation." The Secretary of 
State only attempted " to give the general effect of the conversation." 
His statement is long, but the gist of it is contained in the following 
words, referring to the President's declaration, that Grant had prom- 
ised to agree to the President's wish: "General Grant did not con- 
trovert, nor can I say that he admitted, the last statement." So, Mr. 
Seward was not willing to assert what the President had openly and 



152 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

repeatedly proclaimed, that Grant, before the Cabinet, had admitted 
the truth of Mr. Johnson's statement. Mr. Seward also suggested 
the explanation that Grant, on Monday, " did not expect the Senate to 
decide so promptly as to anticipate further explanation between him- 
self and the President." The Secretary of the Interior answered in 
detail; but his statement in every important particular corroborated 
Grant. He said that Grant had declared in Cabinet meeting that " he 
came over on Saturday to inform the President of the change in his 
views, and did so inform him, and they continued to discuss the matter 
some time, and finally he left without any conclusion having been 
reached, expecting to see the President again on Monday." The Post- 
master General, however, unhesitatingly and in detail affirmed all that 
was important in the President's letter, in direct contradiction of Gen- 
eral Grant, Mr. Seward, and Mr. Browning. 

It will thus be seen, that on the question of veracity between the 
President and Grant, two of the Cabinet ministers supported the Gen- 
eral of the Army; one was non-committal; another corroborated the 
President in general terms, and only one could be found who was will- 
ing, in detail, to stake his own reputation for truth against that of 
General Grant. k That man was Alexander H. Randall. 

TRIUMPH OF GRANT. 

The result was now before the country. An honest soldier, noted 
for truth, impartiality, outspoken frankness, was pitted against a nest 
of wily politicians, against whom charges of untruthfulness had often 
been made before. The verdict was soon passed. Not a man in the 
land in his heart believed that Grant had deceived the President, and 
no one ventured to assert it except partisan maligners. 

The effort to break down the man who had saved them during the 
war was repelled by the people, and recoiled on those who had made 
it. The animus was visible ; unable to compel or induce the great 
soldier to cooperate in their schemes, it was sought to destroy his fair 
fame before the people, and the immense influence now shown openly 
to be cast against the policy of the President. Instead of this being 
accomplished, the loyal people rallied around him at once ; he was made 
stronger in their hearts than ever before, and from this moment his 
nomination, and consequent election to the Presidency were secure- 
Mr. Johnson, by this very attack, elevated Grant higher than ever, 
and made him, beyond all doubt, his own successor in the Executive 
chair. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 153 

Those who had doubted Grant's adherence to the policy of Con- 
gress, were at once made certain, while those who were not partisans 
of Congress, and yet loved and honored the pure and noble man who 
had done as much for his country as even Washington, were as indig- 
nant at assaults on his honor as if their own had been attacked. To 
blot Grant's name, was to tarnish the glory of the country of which 
his name was now become a part. The malignity which could attempt 
this, it was seen, could not consist with patriotism ; and many who had 
believed at least in the integrity of the President, now were made sure 
that sagacity was not the only trait in which he was wofully lacking. 

Grant hitherto had striven to keep aloof from politics, had taken no 
position in any party. He had his own views, and never scrupled to 
act on them or to express them when occasion arose, but he did this 
with no view of benefiting a party, as such. As General of the Army, 
he desired and hoped to act independently of every party ; but it was 
impossible any longer to pretend to act with the President, or to show 
him any but official respect. The lines were drawn so tightly, that 
whoever now was in Grant's position, necessarily drew towards him 
the Republicans. Grant's views, it has been seen, had long been in 
harmony with theirs, and the persistent hostility with which the Presi- 
dent thereafter pursued him, raised him up hosts of friends among all 
who detested Andrew Johnson's course. 

FURTHER PERSECUTION BY THE PRESIDENT. 

Having failed in his endeavor to use Grant in order to keep Mr. 
Stanton out of office, the President now applied to Sherman. A sec- 
ond time he offered that general the position of Secretary of War, 
which Sherman again peremptorily declined. The President then con- 
ferred on Sherman the brevet of General, so as to make him equal in 
rank to Grant, when he might be ordered to supersede the General of 
the Army. Sherman was out of Washington when his name was sent 
to the Senate for confirmation, but he at once wrote and telegraphed to 
Senators that he did not wish the brevet, and his own brother opposed 
it in the Senate; he was accordingly not confirmed. The President 
then sent in the name of General George H. Thomas for the same 
brevet, but that officer also peremptorily declined to be placed in 
antagonism with his chief or on the side of the President. He tele- 
graphed promptly, declining the brevet, declaring that, under the 
circumstances, it was no compliment; thus this attempt also fell to 
the ground. 



154 LIFE OP GENERAL GRANT. 

On the 12th of February, the President, still determining to bring 
Sherman to Washington, and thus provoke a rivalry, if possible, 
between the two greatest soldiers in the land, created a new military 
division, with headquarters at Washington, and ordered Sherman to 
its command. This, also, Sherman opposed with all his might, and 
the President was obliged to abandon the idea, lest he might make 
another enemy, for Sherman was determined not to be brought into 
conflict with Grant. Thereupon, Thomas was to be brought to Wash- 
ington ; but, when he declined the brevet in such uncompromising 
terms, he, too, was found unavailable. Still looking around for one 
to use, the President now hit upon Hancock, an officer who had dis- 
tinguished himself under Grant, whom Grant had expressly nomi- 
nated, first, for the position of brigadier general, and subsequently to 
that of major general, in the regular army; for whom the chief had 
always entertained a warm regard, which was shown on every occa- 
sion and in every suitable manner. 

This officer, flattered with the idea of rivalling his chief, and also 
enticed by the chance, adroitly suggested, of himself becoming a 
Presidential candidate, fell into the snare. When he was sent to New 
Orleans to relieve Sheridan, he became the President's apt coadjutor, 
the friend of the rebels, the enemy of the Union men, and of the 
Congressional measures, to such an avowed extent, that a bill was 
introduced into Congress for the sake of mustering him out of the 
army; but Grant stepped in, with his potent influence, earnestly dis~ 
suaded Congressmen, and prevented the passage of the bill. 

Hancock's salvation was thus due solely to Grant. But Hancock 
persisted in a course at New Orleans that finally compelled Grant to 
revoke one of his orders. This was done with all consideration for 
Hancock's feelings, and is an act occurring every day in the army. 
Nothing is more common than for a superior officer to countermand 
the orders of his subordinate; Hancock, however, at once resented the 
proceeding, and asked to be relieved. This happened in good time 
for the President, who acceded to Hancock's request, and appointed 
him to the command of the military division which Sherman and 
Thomas had spurned. Hancock accepted it, and, being placed in ap- 
parent hostility to Grant, at once became popular with the men he had 
fought during the war, and who now urged him strongly as a candi- 
date for the Presidency; the bitterest rebels openly pressing his claims. 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 155 



IMPEACHMENT. 



And now came the most open and important step of the President. 
In direct opposition to the law forbidding such an act, he removed 
Mr. Stanton from the position of Secretary of War. The Senate 
passed a resolution, by more than a two-thirds vote, declaring that 
Mr. Stanton was still Secretary. The House of Representatives im- 
mediately impeached the President for the act, and he was tried before 
the bar of the Senate ; the only President who had ever been summoned 
to this high court to answer for his acts. A large majority of the 
Senate found him guilty, but the Constitution required that two-thirds 
should so pronounce him, before he could be degraded from his office, 
and there lacked one vote of this requisite two-thirds ; so the President 
remained in office. 

NOMINATION OF GRANT TO THE PRESIDENCY. 

Before the trial was completed, the representatives of the National 
Union Republican party met at Chicago, in convention, and the six 
hundred and fifty-two delegates, on the first ballot, unanimously nom- 
inated Ulysses S. Grant as their candidate for President. There had 
been no doubt for months that he would be the choice of the party, 
but this extraordinary unanimity was unparalleled in the political 
history of the country. The next night, an immense concourse of 
people assembled at his house, the overflow filling up the streets for 
a large distance outside, to congratulate him on his nomination. 
Governor Boutwell, of Massachusetts, was spokesman for the assem- 
blage, and to him Grant replied in his first political speech: 

"Gentlemen: Being entirely unaccustomed to public speaking, 
and without the desire to cultivate that power, it is impossible for me 
to find appropriate language to thank you for this demonstration. 
All that I can say is, that to whatever position I may be called by 
your will, I shall endeavor to discharge its duties with fidelity and 
honesty of purpose. Of my rectitude in the performance of public 
duties, you will have to judge for yourselves by the record before 
you." 

A convention of soldiers and sailors had met at Chicago, at the 
same time with the Republican convention, and the former also, with 



156 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

great unanimity, recommended Grant for the Presidency. On the 
29th of May, a committee from this Soldiers and Sailors' Convention 
presented him a formal address, to which Grant replied as follows: 

" Gentlemen of the Committee of Soldiers and Sailors : 

" I will say, that it was never a desire of mine to be a candidate for 
any political office. It is a source of gratification to me, to feel that 
I have the support of those who sustained me in the great rebellion 
through which we have passed. If I did not feel I had the support of 
those, I would have never consented to be a candidate. It was not a 
matter of choice with me ; but i" hope, as I have accepted, that I will 
have your aid and support, from now until November, as I had it during 
the rebellion." 

There is little doubt that this appeal of their old chief to the Union 
soldiers of the country, will be answered as warmly at the polls as it 
ever was in the field. 

The same evening, Grant was formally notified, by General J. R. 
Hawley, the President of the Republican convention, of his nomina- 
tion as President of the United States. He replied in these words: 

"Mr. President and Gentlemen of the National Union Convention: 

"I will endeavor, in a very short time, to write you a letter accepting 
the trust you have imposed upon me. Expressing my gratitude for the 
confidence you have placed in me, I will now say but little orally, and 
that is to thank you for the unanimity with which you have selected 
me as a candidate for the Presidential office. I can say, In addition, 
I looked on, during the progress of the proceedings at Chicago, with 
a great deal of interest, and am gratified with the harmony and una- 
nimity which seem to have governed the deliberations of the convention. 
"If chosen to fill the high office for which you have selected me, I 
will give to its duties the same energy, the same spirit, and the same will 
that I have given to the performance of all duties which have devolved 
upon me heretofore. Whether I shall be able to perform those duties 
to your entire satisfaction, time will determine. You have truly said, 
in the course of your address, that I shall have no policy of my own to 
enforce against the will of the people." 

Those who have perused this pamphlet, will agree that no better 
pledge could be asked of Grant, than that he will give to the duties of 



LIFE OF GENERAL GKANT. 157 

the Presidency the same "energy, spirit, and will" he has given to 
his duties heretofore. The country desires no more. Those who have 
read this pamphlet carefully, will also not be surprised at his promise 
to " have no policy of his own to enforce against the will of the people." 
They will have noticed how, throughout his entire career, this princi- 
ple has governed him ; how he has grown into his present position, and 
developed into his present attitude, in strict conformity to that will; 
how he was in harmony with the loyal people during the war; how he 
has striven to conform to their will since; and how it is solely in obe- 
dience to their will, that he stands before them a candidate for the 
Presidency to-day. 

His letter of acceptance of the nomination is in these words: 

"Washington, D. C, May 29, 1868. 
"To General Joseph R. Hawley, 

President of the National Union Republican Convention : 
"In formally accepting the nomination of the National Union 
Republican Convention of the 21st instant, it seems proper that some 
statement of views, beyond the mere acceptance of the nomination, 
should be expressed. The proceedings of the convention were marked 
with wisdom, moderation, and patriotism, and, I believe, express the 
feelings of the great mass of those who sustained the country through 
its recent trials. I endorse their resolutions. If elected to the office 
of President of the United States, it will be my endeavor to administer 
all the laws in good faith, with economy, and with the view of giving 
•peace, quiet, and protection everywhere. In times like the present, it 
is impossible, or at least eminently improper, to lay down a policy to 
be adhered to, right or wrong, through an administration of four years. 
New political issues, not foreseen, are constantly arising; the views 
of the public on old ones are constantly changing, and a purely 
administrative officer should always be left free to execute the will of 
the people. I have always respected that will, and always shall. Peace, 
and universal prosperity, its sequence, with economy of administra- 
tion, will lighten the burden of taxation, while it constantly reduces 
the national debt. Let us have peace. 

"With great respect, your obedient servant, 

"U. S. Grant." 

The same spirit may here be traced which is apparent in the three 
speeches of the next President. Above all, a deference to the will of 



158 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

the people ; a desire to be supported by those who were loyal during 
the war; and an extreme anxiety for peace. Those who are truly 
Republican, or truly Democratic, can agree to support him, who always 
has respected, and always will respect, the popular will ; those who 
love their country, will sustain him whom they sustained during their 
country's trials ; and those, North or South, who are anxious for peace, 
will find in this man's history full proof of his ability to conquer and 
preserve peace, and of his abiding desire to give "peace, quiet, and 
protection everywhere." 

CONCLUSION. 

CHARACTER AND POSITION OF GRANT THE SAME NOW AS DURING THE 
WAR AND AT ITS CLOSE. 

Thus, then, Ulysses S. Grant is presented to this country for its 
suffrages at the approaching election. The man who entered the war 
four days after the President's first proclamation for volunteers, has 
not yet concluded his battle for the Union. He is opposed to-day by 
the same people, at the North and at the South, who were most active 
against him during the war. He is upheld by the same people who 
were his most urgent supporters while he led the armed forces of the 
Union. All the loudest rebels of the South are against him now; and 
at the North, all who predicted and desired defeat for him while he 
was in the field, predict and desire it now. Pendleton, Vallandigham, 
Wood, and Seymour are on the same side still, and destined, doubtless, 
to a new defeat, dealt by the same men who, at Appomattox, defeated 
Seymour, and Vallandigham, and Pendleton, as well as Lee. 

The soldier who led the Union armies from Belmont to Richmond, 
who was so successful in every campaign, and so magnanimous after 
each success, is again in the field. He has not changed because it is 
a theatre for statesmanship upon which he now plays his part. His 
principles have been the same in peace as in war. He is still uncom- 
promising with his foes in battle; he spares them not till they are 
conquered; he relaxes no legitimate effort now, as he did not before. 
If they persist, his harshness and determination continue; his sagacity 
reveals new measures, his skill devises new means, his genius works, 
out a way over and beyond all obstacles, his courage is never appalled 
his strategy never outwitted. The same qualities which brought him 
success on every theatre of operations in the land, which enabled 



LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 159 

him to conquer Floyd, and Pillow, and Beauregard, and Van Dorn, 
and Price, and Johnston, and Lee, in turn — these same qualities are 
exactly those which have been ripened since for civic purposes, and 
are as necessary for the statesman as they were for the soldier. The 
foresight, the patience, the energy, the calmness, the determination, 
the ability to select and use the talent of others, to control the unwill- 
ing, to direct vast masses, to influence and overcome would-be rivals, 
to raise up hosts of adherents, the fortitude under apparent disaster, 
the courage at unexpected crises, the fertility of resource, the compre- 
hensive grasp of the situation of a continent, the equanimity under 
unexampled success which the soldier has manifested, are all traits 
that will be inestimable in the President. 

These same traits have already been manifested in his semi-civil 
position since the war. He has displayed the same inflexible purpose 
against Andrew Johnson that he did against Robert E. Lee ; the same 
wisdom in directing the governors of military districts which he showed 
when his generals were at the head of armies ; the same calmness amid 
difficulties at Washington as at Donelson ; the same ability to thwart 
the wily politicians in the Cabinet that he evinced in outmanoeuvring 
Johnston and Pemberton at Vicksburg ; the same devotion to duty ; 
the same determination to accomplish the supremacy of those who 
fought for the country, mixed, all the time, with the same considera- 
tion for his adversaries, whenever they manifest a disposition to suc- 
cumb. For his magnanimity at Appomattox is perfectly consistent 
with his position to-day. Had the rebels remained as submissive as 
they were then, had they not found injudicious friends — or, rather, 
interested and crafty allies — at the North, to incite in them a different 
spirit, and proffer them aid and counsel, Grant would still be willing 
to display the same generosity as then ; but it must be a generosity 
which is based on the suppression of treason and the spirit which ani- 
mated it. When treason lifts its banner again ; when it proclaims 
that the rebellion was just, and glories in it ; when its northern friends 
strive to commit the country to the ineffable disgrace of repudiating 
the debts incurred to put down rebellion ; when rebels arc welcomed, 
not as repentant and returning prodigals, but as gallant and glorious 
soldiers, whose sole achievements were aimed at the life of their coun- 
try — then Grant is found just where he stood during the war — just 
where he stood at its close — at the head of all who maintain the 
supremacy of the Government, and inflexibly opposed to all who 
oppose it. 



160 LIFE OF GENERAL GRANT. 

That this is the present position of the country needs no proof. 
When Horatio Seymour leads the hosts antagonistic to U. S. Grant, 
and is nominated at the urgent solicitation of Pendleton and Vallan- 
digham, while his warmest supporters are Forrest and Wade Hampton, 
there can be no doubt. The people who pronounced the war a failure 
in 1864, not long before the surrender of every armed rebel in the 
land, have held another convention, in which they assailed the soldier 
who received those surrenders. Need more be stated? Does any pa- 
triotic man hesitate on which side to ally himself? Does any sensible 
man doubt that the result will be another victory by the same leader 
over the same enemy, as complete as that of Vicksburg, of Chatta- 
nooga, or of Appomattox Court House? 



W -N, 4A4^»-A4>^ 4b-*»' 



LIFE AND SERVICES 



OF 



GENEEAL U. S. GRANT, 



CONQUEROR OF THE REBELLION, 



AND 



EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



" Wo Invo whipped them onco, and I think -wo can do it again."— Grant at Belmont. 



This Lite of Qeneral Chant has been compiled from the most authentic sources, and is 
published under the authority of the Republican National and Congressional Committees. 
The undersigned are responsible tor all statements of facts that it contains, 

W. E. Chandler, 

Secretary 1! publican Rational Committee. 
T. L. Tri.i 0( E, 

rial Committee. 



PIIILP & SOLOMONS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
18G8. 



'^ «y y^yyy -y^f ■ 



Republican National Committee. 

Headquarters, Fifth Avenuo Hotel, New York City. 



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